In My Arms
by DoubleMMia
Summary: InoSaku. Waves will crash around. But you will be safe. In My Arms. Patience. Love. Rage. Lust. Possession. Sakura is left a final gift from Sasuke, the problem is. Cracks are appearing in Sakura's and Ino's relationship. Yuri. Review. Now.
1. My Heart Is Torn

_Hmph. This fan fiction is different from Pretty Baby, A LOT different. More mature for one, more angst and more heartbreak for the pairing. Though I have to add there is more fluff in this story than Pretty Baby._

_Oh and for those who did review the last chapter, thank you. I appreciate it. Well…Here we are. Short but I promise chapters will get longer._

**Chapter 1:**

**My Heart Is Torn**

Groaning, Sakura let her porcelain fingers dance through Ino's long blonde curls, her toes curled at the amount of pleasure her body is feeling as something wet caresses the inside of her thighs.

"Ino…Please." Sakura finds herself begging, her throat already numb from the last six hours of screaming her fucking ass off after already having about seven orgasms in those last hours.

"Hey, hey Saku. What's wrong baby? Scared that you might lost your voice because you might scream my name a little too loud?" Ino's warm laughter fills Sakura up right to her brain, the vibration of the laugh making Sakura moan as it hits her drenched clit.

Sakura feels her eyes roll back into her head, the pleasure once more too much for her as she feels herself go limp as another orgasm sweeps her away into a restless sea.

"God Ino…" Sakura groans, panting heavily as hands creep over her body to mould her breasts lovingly. "I won't be able to move for days."

Ino grinned, moving up Sakura's body on all fours until she's slowly towering above Sakura's face; loving the way that Sakura's eyes are still full of love even in the most lustful of times.

"Sorry honey, but that was the plan anyway." Ino smirked, kissing Sakura on the forehead before rolling over whilst pulling the pinkette on top of her in a very mild but overall passionate kiss.

Pulling on Ino's lower lip, Sakura accidentally broke the kiss in doing so, only letting the blonde look at her in fascination as she continued her actions on Ino's lip.

Biting hard, causing Ino to shriek a little - however, she did not pull back; mainly because she knew what it would lead to - Sakura then let her tongue slide out to massage the lip better, loving the taste of vanilla on terribly bruised and battered lips.

Finally letting go of Ino's lips, Sakura pressed herself down to land a light innocent kiss on Ino's lips before letting her body collapse down onto Ino's body, making the older woman let out a slight grunt.

"Ugh. Mind warning me when you're going to do that to me? You aren't exactly the lightest woman I've ever met." Ino groaned, stretching her arms behind her head as Sakura snuggled into her chest.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Sakura growled playfully, licking Ino's chin over and over until the blonde spoke once more.

"What if I am?" Ino teased, noticing that Sakura had now stiffened and was wearing a large frown on her face. "And who cares if you are? I like you the way you are. Besides, you're dead sexy."

Sakura tried in vain to frown even deeper at the other girl - she instead cracked up with a large grin on her face and her body shaking in muffled laughter that she was trying hard to keep in at the bottom of her stomach.

Ino furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion (with a hint of amusement along with some annoyance) and stared curiously at the laughing pink-haired woman that was almost killing herself in trying to stop herself from laughing.

"Did I say something funny?" Ino asked, a little smile spreading across her tender - not to mention delicate - features.

Shaking her head while at the same time trying not to choke on her own laughter that was filling her lungs, Sakura placed a hand in front of her mouth, dulling out her laughter instantly.

Ino growled playfully at Sakura, noticing the still dull mischief in her young lover's eyes at the same time as she pulled Sakura's hand away from her mouth and brought the hand slowly towards her own lips.

"I-I was just thinking…How adorable you look when give me that seductive look when you tease me." Sakura murmured, her breathing turning quicker and the lust in her eyes mirroring Ino's as the blonde beauty licked and sucked onto each of her fingers, eyes closed and little grunts coming from Ino's mouth as she continued her work.

"A-and…Ugh! Stop it Ino! I don't want another round of sex, it's two o'clock in the morning and I'm supposed to be having a good lie down so I can go to the hospital at nine!" Sakura yelled, half whimpering at such euphoria that was pumping through her while the saliva on her fingers slowly trickled down her hand and arm.

Chuckling, Ino pushed the pinkette off her, snuggling down into the blankets so that she could roll over onto her right side so that she was face-to-face with the now very tired Sakura.

"Sorry. I forgot all about that." Ino sighed happily, wrapping her one arm around Sakura's waist and pulling the pink-haired woman into her warmth which Ino was sure that Sakura would enjoy (seeming as she just LOVED to lick Ino's collarbone whenever she had the chance in a intimate moment such as this one in bed.)

True to her thoughts, Ino giggled when she felt something wet and in all honesty, disgusting, start to slowly lick at her collarbone.

"Hmm. You taste like peaches. Very nice peaches too. Very expensive peaches." A long unhurried lip sent shudders down Ino's body. "My peaches. Because whatever goes in my mouth is my territory, right?"

Ino could simply not argue with such logic, in addition to knowing that, all she could do was nod like a dumbfound fool; eyes closed as each lick brought Ino closed to snapping under the pressure that was being put onto her.

"I thought you wanted to go to s-sleep?" Ino breathed out, her hands shaking slightly, both of them grasping onto anything that would calm the rush that was quickening it's pace through her entire system.

"I do. Thanks for reminding me." Sakura answered back cheerfully (too cheerfully) and stopped doing her previous actions while burying her face in the two cotton pillows underneath her.

Letting out a groan of disappointment, Ino throws herself down on the mattress in frustration despite knowing that she too, is very tired and wants more than anything to go to sleep and stay asleep until Sakura gets back from her normal routine at the hospital.

"Sorry Ino, I'm tired and don't you think we've had a good enough love making for tonight and the rest of this week?" Sakura chuckled, her laughter dulled underneath the fabric of the pillow.

Ino rolled her eyes, arms crossed around her toned and unblemished chest. "Not really. We normally make love about fifty times a week. And that's only when we're sleepy."

Sakura did a mock, strangled sob underneath her pillow. "Inooo! I'm tired! Shut up and go to sleep!"

"Sakura, are you going to sneak out again? You've been doing too much work for the ANBU lately and I'm sick of not knowing where you're going. Last week you was gone for a whole week and you only just arrived back yesterday." Ino grumbled, turning over so that she was now on her back. "Where do you go by the way? Every time I go to ask Tsunade she just gives me this crap about hospital stuff and that I should be at work."

A murmur of something unintelligible reached Ino's ears, along with a pillow being thrown at her face.

"Ino?" Sakura mumbled sleepily, nestling into Ino's waist at the same time as licking the blonde's stomach.

"What?" Ino questioned coyly, annoyed at Sakura for using her weak spot against her when she was asking Sakura an important question like this one.

"Shut up and let me go to sleep!" Sakura snarled groggily, pinching Ino's thigh before turning over so that her back was pressed up against Ino's abdomen.

Unable to stop smiling, Ino sighed happily as she also snuggled down into the blankets to wrap her arms around the most beautiful thing she had ever been lucky to lay eyes on.

"Night fatty." Ino laughed smugly, waiting impatiently for Sakura's bleary retort (physically and verbally).

A firm nudge in Ino's ribs brought the older woman into whimpers and full out groans of pain.

**.X.**

_Tongues clashed with each other, saliva pooling down the other's chins as warm arms wrapped around cold bodies._

_The scenery changed and Sakura felt the strong wind rush through her hair, slowing her pace down more than it should have at the rapid speed she had been continuously running at._

_Slowing down enough so that she could catch her breath, Sakura bent over, hands on knees while she slowly let oxygen fill her desperate lungs._

_Looking around at her surroundings for the first time, Sakura felt her breath hitch at the familiar scent of baby shampoo that stung to her nostrils and senses. The only person who could even begin to smell like that was Naruto, and when Sakura did finally walk forward a little more to see where she was - more like stumbled forward mind you - she was not the least bit surprised to see the blonde grinning cockily at her._

"_Sakura-chan! We're getting further into the Country of Lightning! We should try and search for Sasuke as we process through here." The blonde boy looked sad for a moment, before his bright smile appeared on his face. "Just in case, y'know? We both know how much we want him back home, and we don't want to disappoint the others, do we?"_

_Sakura found herself nodding slowly, scared to speak just in case she broke herself out of her dream that she was oddly enough conscious _(1)_ to actually witness what was going on in her dream._

"_Besides…" Naruto murmured softly, closing his eyes whilst shaking his head forlornly. "It's almost the twenty-third of July isn't it? That's Sasuke's birthday. So, we should bring him home for his party. Right?"_

_A shaky smile crept on Sakura's worried features, masking the worries and doubts that even in the dream world that they wouldn't get Sasuke back in a hurry. No matter how hard they tried and worked at it._

_Naruto turned to look at her from the corner of his eyes, surprise clear on his face as he studied her quietly._

_Sakura watched him do so, her eyebrows arched to question his intentions as well as why he was so surprised/shocked to see that she was being her normal self in the dream world as well as the normal world._

"_Dattebayo Sakura-chan!" Naruto suddenly cried out, making Sakura flinch at such loudness. "What's wrong? You're awfully quiet! Though I guess it's because you're excited because of the wedding that's coming up, huh?" His cheery grin almost looked evil and Sakura realised that her stomach was doing flip-flops that made her heart jump in her throat._

_Risking it all, Sakura coughed loudly. "Wedding? What wedding? Shikamaru's and Temari's?"_

_Closing her eyes for a split second, Sakura listened intently to the noises around her; feeling the air and noises around her with her chakra to stimulate herself so she could tell if she was now asleep or awake._

"_What?! No way! Shikamaru's and Ino's! Don't you remember? Shikamaru proposed to Ino on Valentines Day! Remember now?!"_

_Without hesitation, Sakura's eyes snapped open, wide and in such enormous shock that Naruto instantly shut his mouth at the expression on her face._

"_W-what?! They're getting married?! That bastar-" Sakura cut herself off, hand placed firmly over her mouth. _

_What the fuck? This was a freaking dream! No! Scratch that! A nightmare! All she had to do was pinch herself and she'd be right back in her warm bed with Ino snuggling by her side!_

"_Sakura-chan!?" _

_Not waiting for another sentence that was being forced out of Naruto's mouth, Sakura pinched herself on the thigh. Hard._

_Instead of waking up where she wanted to be (in Ino's arms and her very warm bed) Sakura found herself groaning as her cold skin was then pushed up against a concrete wall that made her gasp in astonishment at the sudden solid against her back._

_Tongue sliding against her jaw, hands slowly lifting up the red top that Sakura had now grown accustomed to wearing (however, she didn't think she'd be wearing it in her very real dreams) so that her bare (she would never wear this shirt without a bra though,) breasts were aglow with a faint light that seemed to be slowly falling on her as her body writhed from the hot breathing on her cheek and neck._

_Blonde locks tickled Sakura's stomach, icy blue eyes gleaming with gentle mischief, flawless skin shone gently with something that Sakura could only register as yearning. _

"_Ino…" Sakura murmured softly, letting her hands get tangled in the blonde curls that was terrorizing her senses._

"_Well done Sakura…You remember my name. I am impressed." The devilish blonde smirked, stopping her actions to lean into Sakura's waiting - but aching- arms._

_Suddenly, Sakura felt the wind get taken away from her, the body in her arms getting heavier and more muscular, the blonde turning into a raven colour and the skin getting more paler by the second._

"_Sakura…" A voice whispered softly in her ear, almost demurely in a way that not even Sakura could understand it would be HIM talking to her._

_Nevertheless, with HIS hand caressing her stomach, bile immediately started to rise in Sakura's throat and she had to swallow hard before even thinking to carry on with her sentence._

"_Sasuke…Get your hands off me…" She growled, forcing her knee up to connect with the Avenger's crotch, forcing the man deeper into her skin as he winced in pain._

**.X.**

Jumping up from the bed, Sakura panted heavily, drenched in sweat and perspiration from the nightmare that she had just witnessed so clearly.

What the hell had happened? Why hadn't she woken up when she had so clearly pinched herself to get awake?

What was bugging her the most was, why in god's name had she dreamed about Sasuke? And Shikamaru and Ino -

Gasping, Sakura looked to her left - half terrified that she was going to find the Avenger lying against her waist - and was blessed to see that the blonde woman known as Ino was sighing contently against her abdomen whilst snoring in her deep slumber.

Giving a weak grin at the peaceful blonde that lay underneath her, Sakura massaged Ino's scalp gently to try and get herself calm from the nightmare that seemed to be still making her body shake even now.

"Oh god…Ino." Squeezing the older woman in her arms lightly until a light snort broke her out of her daydream.

Lying Ino back down against the pillows, Sakura smiled at the same time as brushing the blonde hair away from Ino's closed eyes. "I love you. So much."

Dismissing the nightmare, Sakura instead let her gaze wander over the Lulu alarm clock that rested on her shelf.

_6:46am_.

Sighing at the lack of sleep she managed to have, Sakura slapped her forehead to try and wake herself up.

Feeling like she wasn't going to have any luck with that, Sakura shifted herself so that her legs were swaying off the end of hers' and Ino's bed before pressing her feet down gently on the cold tiles.

Shivering, Sakura leaned forwards; hands covering eyes and her cherry blossom hair hiding her ears from the harsh cold that was biting at her body and her already sour mood.

"Sakura? Where are you going?" A voice mumbled, though it was hard for Sakura to understand seeming as the voice sounded so bleary that Sakura had a hard time trying to translate the garbled mess into words.

"Work. As usual. Wait, I'll be back to get dressed in a second, I just gotta go call Tsunade-sama." Sakura replied, lifting herself up from the bed without a care in the world about her nude state.

Nimble, soft and not to mention delicate fingers slid up the inside of her thighs, startling Sakura to the maximum that she fell back onto the bed into Ino's waiting arms and lips.

"Yeah, yeah that's all very good and crap. But who said I'm going to let something as beautiful as this go to work at six in the morning?" Ino grinned, letting her teeth scrape over Sakura's neck.

Giggling slightly, Sakura let her arms wrap around Ino's neck - which was quite difficult seeing as Ino was behind the pinkette and not in front - and pulled the blonde closer towards her so that she could just manage to kiss her lightly on the cheek.

"Ino. I've got to go to work. Y'know for money and all that. I don't want to be the only twenty-four year old that doesn't have a job." Sakura responded, laughing slightly as Ino pouted childishly at her.

"Fine. No sex for you for a month!" Ino smirked, thinking that she had won this round by the haughty look that was on her face.

Throwing her arms up, Sakura tried as hard as she could to do a little dance without pushing them both off the bed.

"Hallelujah! I can sleep for a month! Whoohoo!" Sakura yelled, once more trying to get up from Ino's grip on her thighs that no thanks to Ino, weighed her down onto the bed.

"Nuh uh, who said you could get up from this bed?" Ino teased, letting her tongue lick Sakura's lobe gently until it elicited a small gasp from the now shuddering pinkette.

"Ino…" Sakura begged, tilting her head back when Ino started to suck at the pulse point on her neck.

"Sakura…" Ino mocked Sakura's tone, licking feverishly at the skin on Sakura's neck in enjoyment as Sakura's honey-flavoured taste made Ino's taste buds explode at such an essence.

"What do I have to do so you'll let me go?" Sakura asked (which more or less sounded like pleading) letting her hands caress Ino's cheeks tenderly while at the same time as trying to plant kisses anywhere in her reach.

Breathing heavily now at her own arousal, Ino sucked harder on Sakura's pulse point, hoping to mark her lover as her own in the short amount of time she had been blessed with - she also did this to give Sakura a hint on what she wanted the pinkette to do to her.

Letting out a loud moan, Sakura shut her eyes tightly at the pleasure that pumped through her mind that almost sent tears down her eyes at such feelings that was rushing throughout her.

"I-Ino, I-I swear if I-I've got a…oh god. A hickey because of this then I'm going to k-kill you!" Sakura panted, eyes half lidded and her emerald orbs clouded over with unmistakable desire for the blonde temptress.

Pulling away from the pink-haired woman, Ino resisted the urge to lick her lips as the cherry blossom lip balm still added an extra tang onto her tongue.

"I was hoping you'd get the idea honey, but it seems like I've got to do everything for you…" Ino cooed mischievously, tracing patterns on Sakura's toned stomach. "Don't I Saku?"

"Ino. Stop teasing me. It's too early in the morning for you to get horny." Sakura whinged, nevertheless the roguish glint in her eyes still remained as she lightly tapped Ino on the hand.

"I'm not horny! I just wanted a morning make out session! Is that too much to ask for?!" Ino cackled, finally letting go of Sakura as she let herself lie back down into the quilt.

Grinning like a mad woman, Sakura squeezed Ino's thighs firmly before bouncing off towards the living room where her phone was kept on charge for the whole night of their _ravenous_ love-making.

Picking her phone up, Sakura flicked it open, pressed firmly on the contacts button and quickly pressed in Tsunade's name in before putting the phone to her ear.

All Sakura could hear at that moment in time was the dull tone of the phone as it tried to connect to Tsunade's own phone, no doubt that the woman was either asleep or drunk off her nut again.

"_H-HELLOO?"_ Tsunade's loud voice boomed through the phone, causing Sakura to jump back a little in a quick jolt like she had been struck from lightning.

"_Uhm, Sensei, I'm just phoning to see how he's doing. And just to tell you that I'm going to be away for a few days because of…Y'know."_ Sakura mumbled, looking over her shoulder just in case Ino walked in to eavesdrop on her.

"_Oh-oh, arr. Yea', yea' he's doing alright. We're just basically keeping an eye on him just in case he decides to follow you again. Not that I approve of you going to look without him, fer Kami's sake Sakura, your going to get yourself killed out there. And even when you do make it back from a mission, you only have t-two days of r-rest which should be at least half a week."_ Tsunade hiccupped whilst speaking, her voice unfocused and blurry.

"_Sensei! I promised him! I won't go back on a promise, he's never gone back on his so why should I?"_ Sakura answered back determinedly, fists clenched as she tried her hardest not to scream down the phone in frustration at her sensei for worrying about her too much.

"_And what happens to Ino if you die huh? You really think she's gonna move on super duper quick? What if you don't make it? What if she thinks of all the wrong reasons? Huh Sakura? What if YOU die? How do you think INO will feel? Y'know who Ino is right? The love of your life as you say."_

Sakura hit something to her right - which turned out to be an old fruit bowl that Shikamaru had gotten her for her birthday. (2)

"_Yes! I know who Ino is! And no! I'm not going to die! How do you even know what risks my life? Huh? I can look after myself!" _Sakura whispered harshly back through the phone, pressing the phone to her ears so hard that she felt a twinge of pain beginning at the top of her lobe.

"_As much as I care about you and your health Sakura! I also care about the people's lives in your squad as well! How am I supposed to know that you're leading them well? How am I supposed to know how you're coping with all the stress that's being put onto you? How Sakura?"_

"_The same way as before! I'll come back and get my team to check in. It'll be easy as A B C! As easy as that! Tsunade-sama, for the very last time. I'll be fine! All I need you to do is alert my team that I'm coming around half past seven to pick them up."_

A loud groan of frustration was heard from the other side of the phone, making Sakura grin at how her sensei would soon collapse and give into her pleas.

"_Fine! But this is the last mission for a WHOLE month for you! You got that? And I hope you say thanks to Gaara, Kankuro and Temari when you see them! We're grateful that they've come to help you as ANBU. The Sand Village will murder us if Gaara and his siblings get hurt, I'm warning you Sakura. Be careful."_

Sakura rolled her eyes, leaning herself against the stone wall to her right in disappointment.

"_Yeah, yeah. I know. I always do say thank you. And I also have the feeling Ino WOULD murder me if she knew what we were doing..."_

"_That's if you don't get murdered al-"_

Growling, Sakura slammed the phone back down on it's holder, making the holder shudder at such force.

A whistle broke Sakura's anger in two, shredding the fury into pieces and throwing it up in the air to also break the silence.

"Wow, Tsunade-sama made you mad again? That woman is just too good at what she does." Ino grinned from the bedroom door, her whole weight being put onto the door frame as she smirked at the raging and obviously annoyed pinkette.

Sakura growled, turning around with her arms crossed to try and at least look she was annoyed at the older woman - though she knew that the annoyance wouldn't stay there for long.

"Ino…Are you saying that you think Tsunade-sama is more attractive than me?" Sakura asked, brows arched accusingly at the still smirking blonde.

"Oh yes, she's got lovely curves and breasts to DIE for…" The smirk left Ino as soon as the pinkette sniffed and turned her back on her, arms crossed in frustration and irritation.

Sakura knew that Ino was teasing her, making her want to hit her, just something that could provoke a reaction from her.

Besides, even if they had both turned twenty-four over twelve months ago, Sakura knew that Ino was still very much like a child - though, Sakura knew for a fact that Ino was VERY much like a woman…The sex proved it.

'_Does she really think Tsunade is more attractive than me?'_ Sakura silently thought, nibbling at her nails whilst cursing herself for thinking too much over it.

Silently arms wrapped around a skinny waist that tensed tremendously as skin settled protectively over it.

"No matter, she may be sexy." Ino breathed hotly into Sakura's ear, even now making Sakura blush at such heat that was making her body shiver at such warmth that had settled in her stomach.

"But to be honest. You are the most sexiest things that has ever walked on this planet. Not including me."

Her face feeling like a volcano that was about to erupt, Sakura covered her cheeks with her two hands in embarrassment at herself and the way that Ino seemed to have more control over her than anyone she knew.

"Ino! Stoppit!" Sakura whined, her hands still covering her overheated cheeks whilst the impish blonde let her arms unravel around the pinkette's waist.

"Mhm. I approve of your arse too." Ino winked, tapping the younger woman's butt lightly with her index finger before spinning Sakura around to place a kiss on the tip of the woman's nose.

Slowly removing her hands from her face, Sakura let a sheepish grin creep on her face at the comment about her apparently well formed arse.

"Ino, stop teasing me. I've got to go get dressed for ANBU." Sakura frowned at the sudden tension that then filled the room after the sentence she had just bluntly uttered.

Not even bothering to look at the probably obvious disappointment on Ino's face, Sakura let out a long sigh before pushing past the frustrated blonde with a grimace on her face.

Shaking her head at herself, Sakura let herself jump on the bed - with her rump high in the air as she wadded around her for lingerie and other garments that was by the side of her bed - checking the clock every few seconds to see what time it was and how long she had before she had to go and meet the Sand Siblings.

Padded footsteps told her that Ino was trying to slink silently into the room, no doubt to try and question her about where she was going and why she was going so early in the morning.

Throwing her old lingerie away and quickly grabbing some new ones to slip on, Sakura quickly grabbed her silky bra and fastened it hastily - her nail breaking in the process of her speed.

"Sakura…You only got back here two days ago, come back to bed and get some rest. I'm sure Tsunade won't mind losing a nurse for a day." Ino whispered soothingly into the pinkette's ear, pulling her closer towards her toned body.

Shrugging the blonde off her - somewhat harshly- Sakura got up from the side of her bed and shuffled over to her wardrobe to pull out her ANBU equipment and gear that would last her for at least a few days or maybe a week if she was unlucky enough.

"Sakura…?" Ino's voice trailed towards Sakura, it's tone sound so weak and desperate that Sakura blinked hard to get rid of something that was obviously going to be spilled down her cheeks if she wasn't careful.

Slowly putting her uniform on, Sakura didn't cast a second glance behind her, knowing that if she did so she would see something that she had saw every time we she had left the flat they shared together.

"Sorry Ino…It's important and y'know how it is being an ANBU and everything…I get more missions than days off." Sakura chuckled nervously, pulling her equipment over her right shoulder. "Kinda sucks, but it's our price to pay for becoming a Kunoichi huh?"

Silence, apart from the squeak of the bed as weight was piled onto it.

Checking herself down, Sakura finally placed her pig ANBU mask on her face whilst admiring how slim her body was becoming in the mirror (dimly noticing that Ino was staring at her with so much concern in her eyes that it made Sakura feel repulsed at herself).

"Okay, so I think I'm done." Sakura muttered to herself, looking herself down as well as brushing her clothing along with it to check to see if she had missed anything at all. "Do I look done?"

"Fine." Was the very stiff response that made Sakura hit herself repeatedly on her forehead - aka mask - while almost screaming in ferocious fury.

Growling, Sakura turned on her heels to march angrily towards the front door (ignoring Ino's glares which soon enough softened into a worried mask that only made Sakura blink) and pulling the door wide open to reveal the very deserted corridors.

Before Sakura could even think of stepping any further, Ino finally found the courage to speak.

"I meant what I said last night." The voice was so un Ino that Sakura couldn't help but look back at the shaking girl behind her.

"What?" Sakura asked, truly confused at what Ino meant about last night. From what she could remember all Ino had done was give her loads of orgasms whilst receiving loads herself.

"I said I loved you. I meant it." Ino responded calmly, her eyes never leaving Sakura's emerald orbs.

Flinching, Sakura felt her mouth open and close as if she was doing an impression of a fish.

"I-I…I know you meant it. So did I."

Without waiting for an answer, Sakura left with only a little wave.

**.X.**

_Yeah! So it's not the most perfect first chapter but I think it would get your senses tingling? Lol. Anyway. I was planning to update yesterday but I couldn't because I was watching Loving Annabelle. Has anyone watched that movie by the way? If not, I'd recommend you to watch it. _

_1) Kind of hard to explain, you'll see in later chapters._

_2) Ha. That's what I got off my ex boyfriend. The bastard. Oh well, it was sweet of him anyway I guess._


	2. Rain

_Thank you all for the positive reviews. I'm ecstatic that you liked the last update and I hope you're all gonna love this chapter. Oh and I'm also replying to Kirbygirl13 only because the others I can respond too through email. So yeah. Thanks to you all._

_Kirbygirl13: Heh, thanks hun. It's good to see that I'm improving like you said. I tend to strive more when people tell me I'm improving. And whoop! I loved your updates! They were awesome! :D And your town flooded? Oh noes :O Are you okay? X] Hope you like this update btw hun and I also hope you're feeling better._

**Chapter 2**

**Rain**

Sakura hated rain. It always got in her eyes when she was sparring and it annoyed the shit out of her how her hair then got all frizzy after it dried off.

But what made her hate rain the most was how it always seemed to happen when she was leaving Ino to go on a shit hard mission as this one - which by the way was all the time.

She knew she could have just woken Temari up (the Sand Ninja just lived next door to her for Kami's sake) but that wasn't where she was planning to meet up with the other guys and so she had planned an area where they all had to meet up for them to start the mission.

So, braving the treacherous hair-ruining weather alone - by alone, only a few ANBU was guarding the streets cautiously - to meet up in Ichiraku's Ramen Bar where she would soon have her breakfast there.

Funny, she seemed to be always get breakfast there lately; she knew that she could have gone to Laniki's Amazing Curry restaurant but curry in the morning? Not that ramen was much better, but still…

A rain drop splashed in her eye (1), blinding her for a moment which lead her to smacking into an advertisement board just outside of a groceries store.

"FUCK!" Grabbing her eye at the same time as grabbing her stumped toe, Sakura hopped on one leg towards the Ichiraku stand which was a whole street away from her.

'_Serves you right for ditching Ino all the time you self-centred bitch.'_ A voice within her spoke, clouding out all her thoughts in one instance.

Forgetting the pain in her blazing toe, Sakura gripped both of the sides of her head and let a little scream rip from her vocal chords.

"Not again. When did YOU come back?" Sakura whined, her pace now getting slower as she continued her walk towards the bar.

'_The same time when you started being a egotistical little bitch and started sneaking out to go on these stupid ANBU missions with the Sand Idiots.'_

"Hey! Don't call them that you freak! I'll have you know that you're -" Sakura began to retort.

'_You are the one to talk.'_

"Excuse me?! Why are you interrupting my sentences? You weren't doing that before? And what do you even mean by that?" Sakura demanded, ignoring the glances from some of the ANBU she received as she walked on.

'_You're the one who's getting weird looks from everyone because they think you're a freak that talks to herself because she has no friends.'_

Snapping her head around to check to see if her inner self was correct, she was greeted with some of the ANBU shaking their heads at while some of them walking quickly off in the other direction.

Snarling at the ANBU who was brave enough to stare at her like she was a hopeless psychopath, Sakura quickly turned away to sprint off towards the Ichiraku's Ramen Bar.

'_Hey, look at the bright side of this situation. At least I'm not torturing you and making you horny for Ino, because damn girl you deserve it.'_

"How about this, I'm very sorry and I'll try to make it all better somehow, now could you please piss off whilst I go meet my squad?" Sakura grumbled, removing her mask to let it linger lightly on her right shoulder.

'_Fine, but I'll be back. You bitch.'_ The voice started to fade away softly through mid-sentence, making the loud vocal die down until Sakura's ears didn't actually have to strain.

"Oh I know you will." Sakura groaned, rubbing her temple to try and get rid of the aching pain there which was only just fading away.

Turning the corner, Sakura placed both of her hands in her already full pockets as she scanned the area closely - crime was never far away for the ANBU squad as Ino had mocked once in a very physical argument which consisted of breaking windows.

Oh dear Kami, she remember the argument too well seeming as she had once more been the main subject of it.

"_Oh yes! But when I want to go out on a date with you the ANBU squad calls for their dear hero Haruno Sakura! And what do you say as a reply Haruno? Nothing! Crime is never fucking far away for the ANBU squad is it?"_

Wincing at the harsh memories, Sakura scurried towards the bar (which by the looks of it had just opened) and pushed open the curtains to reveal the mouth-watering smell of ramen.

Smiling warmly at Teuchi, Sakura bowed her head politely in thanks for him serving her meals at such early hours before ordering a spicy Pork Ramen with another bow of her head.

Normally she wouldn't of have been so polite towards the Ichiraku's…Mainly because half the time she was tired, and grumpy and just plain upset because she was being a bitch again - in other words, she was leaving Ino behind again while she went off on some crazy ass mission.

Noticing that Ayame was staring at her intently (intrigued), Sakura decided to try and give up some light conversation so that they she would feel a lot better before she left with the Sand Siblings.

"So Ayame, how's everything going? We haven't talked in a while…" Sakura gripped her ANBU shirt harder on how stupid that sounded.

'_You was here last week you twit.'_ Sakura thought to herself, her nose and eyes scrunched up in frustration.

Breaking out of her daze, Ayame nodded energetically, flipping her long red locks out of her eyes and mouth.

"Yes! Everything's fine! We've been having more customers lately thanks to you!" Ayame then broke out into a light giggle which made Sakura roll her eyes impatiently at the waitress. "Ino's one of our regular visitors now!"

Coughing, which caused for herself to then choke on how dry her throat was, Sakura placed a hand firmly over her mouth to try and still her coughs into low muffled pants.

Blinking to get the tears out of her eyes, Sakura gestured wildly with her hands towards the water pot that was resting near Ayame and the stacks of delicate hand-carved glasses.

Eyes widening in panic, Ayame dashed towards the pot, grabbing two glasses and dunking them into the water before bringing them back up to slide towards the still choking Sakura.

Grabbing one of the drinks in her hand as quick as she could, Sakura jugged it down her throat in one go, letting the cool water soothe and massage the inside of her throat so that she could actually breathe without choking on her own tongue.

Not needing the second glass, Sakura coughed politely to try and get herself back into a non-awkward conversation with the startled waitress - who by Sakura's opinion had every right to be startled by a choking-on-her-own-tongue ANBU.

"Uhm so, you say that Ino's a regular here now?" Sakura mumbled into her glass, her lips only skimming the water.

Nodding uncertainly, Ayame crossed her arms and leaned onto the counter so that she could stare more directly into Sakura's emerald eyes which she had heard from gossiping gentlemen (and even some of the women too) that almost any person alive could get lost into.

Testing out the theory whilst also letting her curiosity linger enough so that she could then see why Sakura was so defensive about something that mattered about Ino, Ayame blinked twice to clear her head.

"Yes Haruno-san." Adding a little giggle for added effect, Ayame messed with her hands to try and calm herself. "She's been here asking for information about you and the recent ANBU missions."

If Sakura hadn't been so down-right terrified that Ino knew something about what she was doing she would have probably let out a little 'aw', but when something that worried her was still in her mind - Ino knowing what she was doing being one of them things - then nothing could shift her thoughts.

"It's kinda sweet, she looks all worried and concerned but honestly we know nothing because you lot won't tell us anything will you?" Ayame rolled her eyes, turning her back away from the ANBU to go collect her customer's order.

Sakura groaned into her hands, scraping her fingernails gently down her face in frustration.

"Gee, thanks Ayame…That really made me feel better than I did before. Thanks for nothing!" Sakura muttered under her breath, shooting Ayame her evil eyes before turning back to look at her hands in guilt.

"I do NOT feel guilty…I do NOT feel guilty…I don't fucking feel guilty!" Sakura yelled, slapping her forehead repeatedly until she felt like that she was then back into the real world of what she called sanity.

"Service is up! A spicy Pork Ramen at your service!" Cried out an annoying voice which Sakura could only point out was to be Konohamaru.

Growling, Sakura picked up her utensils and slowly began to chew on the noodles at the same time as pointing her index finger accusingly at the source of the voice.

"Why." Slurp. Chew. "In Kami's name." Bite. Another loud slurp. "Are you working here?"

A whine of protest, followed by a loud huff which lead to Sakura staring at a teenage little raven-haired brat with a scruffy and not to mention a dirty Ichiraku's apron that was tied around his middle.

"Hey! Hey! It's my first job! Gimme a break!" Konohamaru snapped childishly, his arms crossed around his chest which made him look so much like Naruto that Sakura let out an impatient snarl from the back of her throat. "Besides! You should have more respect! I'm going to be the next Hokage! And then everyone will look up to me more and treat me with so much admiration and loyalty that I'll be famous! And powerful!"

Sakura snorted, knocking Konohamaru off balance and onto the seat next to her face first.

Gripping his collar from behind, Sakura yanked him high up in the air before sitting him down next to her so that his head was now flat against the wooden counter of Ichiraku's.

"I'm not letting you go until you listen to this, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Sakura began to explain between mouthfuls of pork and noodles.

"You want to be Hokage right? Well, that's all good and well. Respect and all that other shit. But honestly Konohamaru, I think that job is an accident waiting to happen." She stopped explaining for a moment to have a drink of the water that Ayame had provided her. "Shinobi are weapons. Hokage's are the most powerful weapons. Think about it Konohamaru. Everyone respects you, everyone knows you, everyone thinks you as their idol and loads of people want to be trained by you. But get this, how many people hate you? How many people are going to show up at night and slit your throat? For doing nothing that you couldn't help. How many? Who knows. All I know is that…" She paused briefly to see that Konohamaru had stopped struggling and was now listening to her curiously.

"A Hokage never sleeps. And even if they do. It's with one eye open and a kunai by their side. Never dreaming, but always having nightmares. Always trying to find something that none of us know about. Pretty sad really."

Just as she was about to decide if she was going to let Konohamaru go or not, Sakura decided that she should at least give the boy some air to breathe.

Yanking him up a little, Sakura decided that if the boy interrupted her she would knock his brains out.

With that decided, Sakura flicked a piece of spicy pork that was lying their in her ramen into her mouth, chewing it ravenously before continuing.

"You have to put all your worries away, and put everyone else's on your shoulder and make sure that everyone is okay. Everyone is fine and that everyone will be alright. A Hokage is the most strongest ninja of the village, yet one of the most easiest targets to attack. Why? Emotions. Health. Whatever you wanna fucking call it. All I know is that being Hokage sucks. 'Nuff said. You can go now."

Finally letting go of the brat, Sakura placed both of her elbows on the counter whilst eating more of her ramen as if nothing had happened between them both.

"You really believe that?" A voice sniffed, the tone sounding so broken that Sakura flinched when it penetrated her ears.

Looking down at where Konohamaru sat, Sakura slapped her forehead (she seemed to be doing that a lot today) and sighed angrily at herself. The kid looked so broken and torn up that Sakura had no idea that she was being so cruel.

"Ughh. Look. I'm sorry. I don't know what I believe okay?" Sakura groaned mentally when the brat did nothing but look down at the hard wooden counter. "Okay. So you aren't okay. Listen, just don't listen to me. No, wait. That came out wrong."

Sakura stopped for a moment, fingering her chin lightly in thought of what she was about to say.

Eyes shining in realization, Sakura tried her hardest to give the dark-haired brat the most cheesiest grin she could muster.

"It's just grown-up crap. Y'know. My job sucks. My love life is sucking because of it. I'm fucking exhausted. I want to go make out with Ino. And all that other crappy stuff that will make little boys go horny. Yeah, life sucks. And I feel like an idiot moaning about it to you. So shut up and get back to work you slacker!"

Konohamaru gave her a look of shock, anger and confusion before instantly rushing to his post behind the counter - muttering words of 'bipolar' and 'freak case' along the way.

Slouching down on the counter, Sakura pushed her ramen away from her in an attempt to try and clear her mind about everything that she was planning out to do on her mission.

"Hey, what's up? You thinking about proposing to Ino or something?" Ayame's chirpy voice knocked Sakura out of her reverie, sending the pinkette's stomach crashing into the wooden counter.

'_Fucking hell. That woman just gives me the fucking creeps. How can she just barge into my thoughts like nothing? Gosh.'_ Sakura thought darkly, rubbing her stomach to get rid of the sore muscles there.

However, Sakura felt her face turn into a volcano that was almost going to erupt at the last sentence Ayame had squeaked out.

"Uuh! Gr! Angth! What!? No! No! We've only been together for a ye-" Sakura trailed off at her own sentence.

A year. That meant that she had been doing crazy ass missions for over nine months and twenty odd days.

"Oh fuck! Marriage? Ugh…" Sakura buried her face in her arms, blocking out most of her worries for a while.

Sakura stayed in this position for a while, her body tensing whenever she heard breathing or a slight whistle in the wind which makes leaves rub up against her exposed ankles.

"Oh Kami, don't tell me you're drunk Pink!" Someone suddenly yelled, followed by a long delicate finger poking Sakura at the back of her head.

Moaning, Sakura let herself look up to see the horrible sight of one of her closest friends; the sandy-haired blonde of the Sand Village known as Temari along with her other siblings Gaara and Kankuro.

They were all in their ANBU gear, all three of them looking as tired as three kittens that had been unexpectedly woken up when they had had a long night of doing whatever they liked.

"…What's the plan?" Gaara asked, his tone in such a monotone that Sakura reminded herself that Gaara was a _nice_ guy and wasn't someone who was going to kill her in her sleep.

"Or more like what the hell is up now? I'm sick of going on these crazy ANBU missions with you when I could be at home with Kiba and Hinata." Kankuro yawned, sitting himself down.

"Oh shut up! You're a wuss!" Temari cried out, laughing as she plonked herself down next to Sakura as well as giving her a flirtatious wink. "Still taken?"

Sakura grinned self-consciously, knowing that Temari was only teasing her but she was also worried that if Ino found out about this 'teasing' that Temari would end up in hospital.

"Uh, yeah." She replied back as confidently as she could, however still ended up with blazing pink cheeks.

Temari growled seductively at the pinkette, laughing at how the younger woman's cheeks seemed to glow so much at her teases.

"Hell yeah, the moans that I heard last night proved it huh?" Cackling while Sakura bashed her shoulder with her fists, Temari stilled her laughter with a finger as Gaara sent her an impatient look across the counter.

"Get to the point…"

Clearing her throat, Sakura brought a piece of golden parchment out so that she could set it down on the counter.

Looking up and behind her to check if anyone was looking who shouldn't have been, Sakura quickly spread the parchment out to show the five different nations and the barriers between them and other villages that seemed to no importance to them.

"Okay, so basically we're going through the Lightning Country to see if anybody's seen anything since the last sighting. If we've got nothing about it, we'll head towards the Wind Country to stack up on supplies before coming back to Konoha. Simple?" Sakura gave a questioning glance to all three of them, hoping to dear god they would co-operate with her again.

Kankuro in response pouted his lower lip, removing his ANBU mask to place it on the strap that was on his shoulder.

"Well to be honest, it sounds like a bollocking waste of time." Kankuro huffed, giving Sakura a very evil lazy eye in her direction.

"Not exactly. Think about the reputation you'll get if we manage to bring him back to the Village." Sakura quickly countered. "Besides, I promised Naruto that I would do anything in my power to bring him back. And I'm not going to let go of that promise until I manage to do it, no matter what I lose in the process."

A irritated grunt came from the redhead two seats away from her, Gaara's hands tightening into fierce looking fists as the veins seemed to appear rather vividly on the redhead's skin.

"Gaara…" Temari's lyrical voice brought Gaara back down from his moment of anger and aggravation, soothing him into his silence state.

"For fuck sake. Let's get outta here and get this damn mission over and done with. Then we can go back to our fucking lives." Kankuro grunted, getting up from his seat and placing his mask over his face once more.

He turned back for a second to glance at Sakura, his mask hiding his face but his body movements were stiff enough for Sakura to realize whatever was going to come out of his mouth would NOT be good.

"That's if you've got one." Snorting, Kankuro turned back around to glance grimly at the gray streets of Konoha.

Gaara slowly removed himself from his chair, signalling for the two remaining women to stand up with him as he walked directly out of the Ramen bar.

Sakura stared at her hands for a few moments, letting Kankuro's words sink into her flesh and soul until she was sure that his words were seeping through her blood as well.

"Don't let him get to you." A voice tickled Sakura's ear, making Sakura tremble a little at something that seemed so forceful against her ear.

Glancing up with a worried expression glued onto her face, Sakura gave a shaky smile towards the sandy-haired blonde who in turn ruffled her drenched hair affectionately.

"He's just angry cause he wanted to go and chat some girls up in this social club he's going to. Heh, he just doesn't have many friends." Temari winked flirtatiously at the pinkette, pulling her up from her chair to drag her towards her waiting brothers.

Sighing as she slowly unlatched her arm from around Temari's, Sakura placed her pig mask back on her face - hiding emotions was a rule of the Shinobi and Sakura had always been the one for the rules.

"Okay, let's go. We'll have to stop a few times if we find anything interesting though. Tsunade won't be so mad next time if I ask her to go on a mission early." Sakura grumbled, racing off with the three Sand Ninja behind her in a mad rush to get closer to the Lightning Country.

"Yeah, but who says we won't be?" Kankuro muttered out loud, his irritation was actually now getting Sakura pissed off herself.

"Shut up bone-head! Sakura saved your life before and this is how you repay her? I'm disgusted." Temari nudged her brother in the ribs, sending him back a few steps so that she overtook him.

Sakura shot a look at the used-to-be Jinchuuriki over Temari's pig tails and wasn't surprised to see her own sombre look reflecting from his face.

'_I think we both know that this mission isn't going to go very well.'_ Sakura thought, her frown full and her eyes closing for a second behind her mask.

"Hey Pink! What's wrong?" Temari's voice made Sakura's brain hurt so much that Sakura had to swerve suddenly so that she could try to focus her mind back onto where she was heading to.

"Nothing, nothing…Just havin' a bad day!" Sakura yelled over the wind that was now slowing all four of them down at a very low speed which consisted of them then using their chakra to lift themselves up from the ground.

"Jeez! What's wrong with ya? You only ever seem to have bad days when Tsunade tells you that you can't go out on missions." Temari chuckled, pushing past the rest in an attempt to try and reach the woods that would lead to a very good stop where they would probably settle for the night before carrying on with their journey.

"I guess I just miss Ino." Sakura admitted modestly, glad that her mask was covering her face so that Temari wouldn't tease her about how red her cheeks were again.

"Hah! What's to miss when there's someone as sexy as me in your company?" Temari winked, laughing at how the pinkette had suddenly grew quiet after her last comment.

Sakura didn't have to reply. Because she knew if she did then she would never be able to look at Temari the same way again.

'_Everything.'_

**.X.**

_5:42pm_

"Hey! Pay attention Yamanaka! This is a very serious meeting and we wouldn't mind if you tried to pay attention in it!" Anoiki yelled at the blonde woman, throwing a kunai so close to grazing Ino's cheek that most people gasped when the kunai landed neatly into the wall behind the slouched Ino.

Looking up with narrowed eyes, Ino nodded slowly, still not listening to the old bat huff and puff about how being a Jounin was important because you could then carry on commanding a proper team and starting afresh in new missions and skills at the same time as study your student's progress.

Besides, she couldn't give a fuck about students. All she wanted back was the warmth that had been with her last night when she had almost passed out from making love so much to that source of warmth.

Oh kami…Sakura had lovely thighs. Such lovely, creamy, delicious-looking thighs that even imagining them sent bolts of electricity down Ino's body which settled nicely in the middle of her legs.

"Oh fuck…" Ino whispered behind her hand, crossing her legs together whilst trying to look like she was uncomfortable with her chair as she tossed herself around to try and stop herself from getting any more worked up than she already was.

'_Oh kami. What the hell is wrong with me? Am I some sex-mad girlfriend? Ugh! I had enough last night! I must be sex mad!' _(2) Ino cursed loudly inside of her head, still fidgeting in her seat.

'_Damn it. Why am I the one who feels terrible? She ditched me to go on some stupid ANBU mission while I rot away here in Konoha!'_ Ino growled into her hands, trying as hard as hell to sit right in a very stiff position.

'_I hate her…But I love her, but I said I loved her…As in. The past…Fuck.'_ Ino stared at her cradled hands in her lap, her mind slowly fogging up at the distaste of the situation she had just gotten herself into.

'_I don't even know what I feel for her anymore…Fucking hell this shit sucks so much right now. Why can't she just come home so we can discuss it more? Why the fuck does she block me out every time I wanna get closer to her? She's so freaking difficult!'_

Fed up with all the cursing that she was doing inside of her hair, Ino turned to her right to see none other than Shikamaru giving her a lazy smirk as he continued to 'listen' to the speech that was being given out.

"You're thinking about Sakura." He whispered. Not a question. A statement Ino slowly began to realize.

"No I'm not!" Ino whispered harshly back at him, her eyes almost popping out of her head as a new wave of fury washed over her. "Who gives a shit what that stupid pink-haired bitch is up to anyway? She can die for all I care!" Ino finished that statement with a frown that instantly made Shikamaru's smirk grow larger than before.

"Hm. I'm not normally the one who actually cares about yours and Sakura's affairs." Shikamaru paused as something which he only registered as pain flicker across Ino's cerulean pools for a second. "But I have a feeling that you're confused, angry and upset. So what's the problem?"

Sniffing at the lazy bastard as well as turning her nose up at him, Ino gave him a weary - not to mention angry - glance.

"You know what? I don't even fucking know what the problem is. I've been caring towards her, made her dinner, made her feel like a goddess and I've even gone and brought flowers for her everyday! So, who the fuck knows what the damn problem is? Because I fucking don't!" Ino finished this with her fist hitting herself on the knee in aggravation, forgetting that she was in a room full of people who was now all staring at her with amusement and confusion.

"Yamanaka; I think you need to go home, I'll get Shikamaru to deliver these papers to yours and Ms Haruno's apartment in a few hours. Please come back to a meeting when you are actually listening!" Anoiki said to her sternly, the sympathy only shining through in her tone towards the end of her sentence.

Too angry to disagree, Ino nodded furiously, getting up from her chair and storming out of the room, ignoring all the curious eyes that were boring into her back as she went.

Once she had threw herself out of the meeting and into the now lively (not to mention rainy) streets of Konoha, Ino stormed her way through the crowded streets, bumping into random people and not even bothering to show one look of remorse as she accidentally tripped a small boy over without mercy.

Ino wasn't upset, no she was far from upset.

She was absolutely seething, her whole body trembling with such vehemence and passion that most people who saw her turned in the opposite direction in case the blonde woman put all of her frustration at the pinkette onto them.

You see, Ino knew that most neighbours - and by most, she meant everyone on the floor of her's and Sakura's flat - loved to gossip like old biddies about everything that was happening inside of hers and Sakura's apartment.

And they also knew very well that they had to stay away from the fuming blonde whenever Sakura was stupid enough to leave the Jounin to go on a ANBU mission that would probably last two or more weeks.

Yep, they all knew that they had to wear their armour and other equipment to try and defend themselves from Ino Yamanaka.

Once getting to their apartment building, Ino literally stormed her way up the stairs (forgetting the elevator completely) her new found fury giving her the opportunity to knock most people down the stairs and for her to hiss at random people who was either trying hard not to laugh at her or trying hard not to get noticed by her.

Frustrated, livid and just a plain wreck, Ino was jumping for joy when she noticed the landing that would lead towards their apartment door.

Forgetting that two old ladies always seemed to be stalking the corridors - pft, they were most likely begging for money off the weak people. No wonder Sakura had told Naruto to stay away from the apartment - Ino gritted her teeth and stomped as loud as she could across the corridor, her fists hurting from the pain that was making her knuckles sore as hell.

Shoving her key in the lock, Ino pushed down the door handle and kicked the door open before quickly turning back around to slam the door back on it's hinges with such force that the wood seemed to quiver in Ino's wake.

Dropping all her belongings onto the couch, Ino threw herself down onto the mattress of their bed, her body already wracking with silent sobs that made her throat ache.

"Fuck you! FUCK YOU!" She screamed into her sheets, gripping desperately at the linen to try and calm herself down so that she could at least breathe properly without choking on her slowly developing tears that would soon be cascading down her ruby red cheeks.

Letting her clenched hand let go of the bed sheets, Ino let her hands clench once more into fists before driving her agony into the sheets; using the sheets as a punching bag whilst she silently cried in anguish.

"I-I hate you s-so fucking much!" Ino screamed, hearing the knocking at her door but only faintly - no matter how loud the owner knocked, Ino knew she wouldn't hear. Pain was deafening her.

"Hey! Ino-san! It's me! Rock Lee! I had to come and deliver these papers to you because Shikamaru was being held up by Tenten about some special party that was being held for Naruto! Hey! Open up!" Rock Lee's deep voice called out to her, his constant knocking making the pain in her head even more fuller than before.

Ignoring the loud, bubbly and the most annoying voice to ever be heard in the history of whatever, Ino turned over so that she was on her back so that she could stare at the plain ceiling.

"Ino-san! I know you're in there! Uizku-san told me she saw you storming up here a few seconds ago!" Lee's voice sang to her, his now deep voice sounded so dull that Ino felt her eyelids droop.

Letting out a dry sob as pink flashed through her mind, Ino covered her eyes with both of her arms to try and block Sakura out of her soul and heart.

From outside the door, Lee placed his ear firmly against the wood, squinting to hear better on what was going on inside of that room; he had an idea anyway but he wasn't the one to press onto it.

A wracked sob, followed by another and another. Lee gasped, pulling away from the door before feeling sympathy creep into his body.

"I see…Is Sakura-ch, I mean san on an ANBU mission again?" Lee asked softly, crouching down and placing his ear back on the door again.

Not expecting to hear an answer straight away, Lee sighed and silently slipped the letters underneath the door before straightening himself up once more so that he was now looking through the door's keyhole.

Seeing soft toned legs come into view, Lee turned his head away to try and shake the image out of his head - if Sakura-san ever asked how Ino was doing which she normally did whenever she didn't get a chance to go see Ino straight away then Lee knew that he would probably turn to jelly at imagining something that already belonged to someone else.

His thoughts were thankfully cut off as a quiet, but determined strong voice spoke out to him in the now flowing darkness.

"Yeah…She's out on a mission again. As usual…Thanks for the letters Lee, means a lot to me since I got kicked out of that stupid meeting again."

A haughty snort was heard from through the door before being followed by a creak of the door as weight was put onto it (Lee guessed that the blonde Jounin was resting her back against the wood).

Biting his lip in uncertainty on the situation he seemed to have planted himself into once again, Lee turned his back against the door also before slinking down like the blonde Jounin probably had.

"I fell in love with her when I saw her first come back after that long ass mission with Naruto and Temari, when they were all looking for different types of plants so that I could start up a new stock and get more customers." Ino spoke softly, her body still wracking with short sobs. "I-it was s-stupid really. You didn't need three people to go look for some flowers, b-but she went a-anyway just cause she could. And when I saw how close h-her and Temari had gotten…I felt so jealous…"

All Lee could do was nod, tapping his fingers against the door lightly to let Ino know he was still here…Still listening and still feeling the pain that came in waves through her sore body.

"Then god…One day she was just there and I couldn't help it. I kissed her and she kissed me back and fuck…I felt so good. Then we got into a proper relationship, going out on dates all the time, making love so many times until we couldn't fucking move and just being with each other. We grew so close to each other…Then one day she just…left for an ANBU mission. And that's how it's been since she left that day and came back a few weeks after."

Lee heard something thump the door and he could guess that it was Ino's fists getting the better of her.

"I haven't cried so much until today…As soon as she left I suddenly burst out into tears…I cried for over six hours before getting my butt out of bed to go get prepared for that stupid ass meeting."

Ino stopped for a moment, her breathing returning to it's normal heavy breathing (meaning that her soft hitches had dulled down to a minimum) and Lee guessed once more that Ino was thinking about things and most importantly why she was telling these things to someone as least important as himself.

"Nobody is telling me where she's going either…" Ino murmured, her fingernails digging deep into the carpet underneath her. "Every time I try to get a little bit of information…Nobody tells me anything…Nothing but lies and shit about her getting some medical crap! What a load of shit! That doesn't explain why she's always exhausted from getting some stupid ingredients! It doesn't explain why she's always filthy with blood sometimes! It fucking doesn't explain why she then always talks about how nauseating it was to watch so many people suffer. Fucking medical? My fucking ass!"

Lee put his head between his legs, closing his eyes as he let out a full blown sigh escape his throat. At the moment, his guilt was overpowering his 'youthful friendship' and at that moment he tried he's hardest to get rid of the bile that creeping up his throat.

"I don't even know what I should do anymore Lee…" Lee heard the faint plea and shook his head. He wanted to help. He know he should help…But he couldn't. He had promised Sakura he wouldn't even mention what she was doing.

"Do you love her?" He placed a hand to his mouth, furious at himself for even saying that when he knew the answer was pretty obvious.

"No." Came the immediate answer, stunning Lee for a moment before a choked sob followed the statement. "Y-Yes."

"Does she love you?" Lee felt his fists clench on the fabric of his Jounin jacket at the same time as him nodding his head.

'_Yes, she told me.'_

"I-I dunno…I h-hope so." Ino's voice trembled, it's tone so heart wrenching Lee pulled himself up from the floor to get ready to leave.

"Ino-san. I think Sakura-san loves you more than you know and I hope the next time I see her I will remind her to tell you that more. Have a good day." Feeling the guilt bite into him, Lee quickly walked away from Ino's apartment door with a heavy heart.

Still sitting on the floor, Ino lets her hands come off the carpet so that they can scrape ever so lightly over her knees and thighs, imagining them hands to be Sakura's while she lets out a blissful sigh at such imagination.

Bringing a hand to her face, Ino sighed at the make-believe skin that she was caressing. She loved caressing Sakura's cheeks. They were so soft and adorable. What wasn't to like about Sakura's cheeks?

"Saku…What are you doing to me?"

**.X.**

Tossing and turning in her bed, Sakura let out a huff as she turned once more to face Temari's smirking face in the bed next to her.

"Can't get to sleep? Come on, we have to get up early tomorrow and you'll need plenty of rest so we can get their quicker." Temari whispered to her quietly, looking out of the window behind Sakura's shoulder. "Though I don't get why we had to miss the first Inn we was at, it was much comfier."

Sakura sighed, turning over so that she was staring at the ceiling. "Cause that was the Inn me and Ino stayed at when we first went on a date together…I don't want to be reminded of that."

Closing the conversation, Sakura turned over once more to stare out of the window at the night sky.

"Hey, if you're missing warmth you can always snuggle up with me if you -"

"No." Sakura cut the Sand Nin off, her temper flaring for a second at how cocky Temari was getting.

"Pft. Fine, don't come whining to me when you're cold." Temari whispered harshly back, the squeak of the bed letting Sakura know that Temari had turned on her other side.

The rain glided down the glass of the window, making Sakura feel like that her heart was raining blood inside of her soul.

"Ino." She murmured into her pillow, closing her eyes.

_(1) LAWLZ. ANBU had hole's in their ANBU masks right? o_O _

_(2) EXTRA LAWLZ. Ino is sex mad. How fitting :D_

_Kay. Whatcha think? Bad? Good? Fucking crap? Rewrite? You bitch, you ruined this fucking story? And why have I only put good? It's fucking awesome. Anyway, what do you think I should actually do? Show Sakura's missions and how Ino is coping? Fuck that and just get Sakura coming back though I have to admit that sounds shit. Haha. I'm evil. I know everything that's gonna happen as well. Hehehe. What do you want me to do!? And as usual, I'll check the freaking grammar later. Though I never do. Mwauaha._


	3. Pain Of The Curse

_Okay thanks for all the reviews, as always you know I appreciate it. Thanks to you all. Hope you enjoy this chapter, seeming as I worked freaking hard on it and I would LOVE ze reviews. Heh, I'm also changing my Pen name to something different so don't freak out if you suddenly have a new author on your favourite's list that you don't recognize, it will most likely be me._

**Chapter 3**

**Pain Of The Curse**

"Hey, Sakura." Temari whispered softly in the pinkette's ear, smiling tenderly at the way Sakura mumbled something incoherent into her pillow. "It's time to get up Sakura…"

Groaning in displeasure at being woken up so early in the morning - even if she had went to bed extra early so that she would be more awake - Sakura rolled over so that she was on her back.

"You know that Ino's messenger dog is here…It just came a few minutes ago. Looked exhausted so we gave it something to drink, it has something like a letter that's addressed to you." Temari said gently, nudging the pink-haired woman's right cheek to see if this would make the woman stir from her uneasy slumber.

How did she know how the woman slept? It was pretty simple really. The way Sakura's body had been writhing and her back had been arching in a sudden wave of pain told Temari that the woman was indeed having nightmares again.

To be honest with herself, she knew that something would wake Sakura up and normally, the sandy-blonde would have allowed herself to drag her body out of bed to do the deed, however when jealousy takes over one's brain it makes the body do funny things…Unforgivable things.

Not waking Sakura up because she had been more than a little jealous over Sakura's and Ino's relationship was something that Temari labelled as one of these unforgivable things.

"Could you bring it up here? Please? I'm so tired…" Sakura murmured, her voice husky with what seemed to be the lack of sleep and her throat sounded so sore that Temari winced as if she had been struck around the face.

Nodding slightly, Temari let her hand rest on Sakura's forehead and almost instantly pulled back from the immense heat that was radiating off the distressed pink-haired woman's skin.

"Fuck!" Cursing angrily, Temari lifted her hand up to examine her angry red skin and was silenced by how the heat off Sakura's skin somehow had managed to leave a nasty burn.

"T-Temari? W-what is it?" Sakura croaked, letting a trembling hand reach out to grab the blonde's wrist which then brought out another hiss from the contact which led the blonde to let out a quick scream before jumping away from Sakura's grip.

"T-the hell!? Sakura, what's wrong with your damn skin? It's…red hot! Jeez, what the fuck did you dream about last night!?" Temari half yelled, half whispered, her eyes wide with at how the pinkette had suddenly started to heat up so badly that what was left of the porcelain skin seemed to vanish under black ink.

Gasping and whining at how all of a sudden her skin seemed to be on fire and her gaze seemed to be blurry, if truth be told, she was also whining and gasping at how the pain seemed to intrigue her pleasure as the tormenter from her nightmare let their talons scrape down her skin to draw the ink that was enveloping her whole body.

Sakura couldn't actually remember what she had been dreaming of last night, but whatever it was, it had made her body click in response to it…So well in fact that she was basically having some kind of attack - a response maybe? - to the nightmare that seemed to have triggered it.

"Fuck! Hold on Sakura! I'll be right back!" Was all Sakura heard, even if it was faint to the sudden exhilaration of feeling pain and pleasure at the same time.

Grasping at the bed sheets underneath her, Sakura let out a painful, guttural groan which made her lungs ache and her temple start to throb with the most unimaginable pain that Sakura had even been unlucky to ever feel in her entire lifetime.

The dream has just been the same as before. Ino turning into Sasuke and biting her viciously on the neck before tearing her throat out and tasting her blood before spitting it out to let the liquid dribble down his ghostly white chin.

It was kind of funny in a way. How she was remembering such a dream as the blinding pain flew through her body like lightning, how her eyes seemed to scrunch up at how much her mind seemed to throb and just how her body was trembling at such feelings that seemed to make her whole body freeze up and break down into more trembling.

Ink. It was like Sai had drawn over her whole body, his paint giving her a brand new coat of sweat and just plain dye that seemed to give her shivers.

She let out a loud groan of frustration of the fury of the pain that was the pit of her stomach, her memories piecing together everything that Temari had said about a messenger dog that delivered something to her.

It was amusing how she seemed to be thinking this at the time when the white-hot pain was so unbearable that she could hardly breathe, it amused her to no end and this is how she found herself staring at the little table next to her bed.

The white parchment that rested there seemed to soothe her aches for a moment, her trembling stopping completely, her hands sneaking out to try and tug the paper towards her; forever trying and mentally forever failing. (1)

Sighing at the feel of paper underneath her fingers, tickling her digits lightly, Sakura pulled the parchment towards her slowly, despite the need to be sick as the bile slowly crept up her parched throat.

"Gaara! Get Kankuro! Quick! We've got to bring Sakura back to the village! Straight away! Hurry the fuck up!" Temari's yells filled the whole Inn that they had stayed at, deafening Sakura for a second while she lifted the letter up to examine more closely.

Sure enough, it was Ino's neat italic script which always seemed to make Sakura have to squint to try it properly - which would probably end up with more muscles having a sudden spasm out on her.

"F-Fuck." Sakura moaned, letting her hand fly instantly to her neck at the sudden sting of pain that was inflicted there.

One hand still clutching the letter, another still on her neck, Sakura blinked hard to get the focus back in her eyes. Anything to try and see the ink on the piece of paper again.

_Saku,_

_I don't think you'll remember this, and you most likely won't care seeming as this mission of yours is the most important thing in your life right now. But our anniversary is coming up in two days…I'm sure you don't even remember what anniversary do you? It's when we first actually started going out, properly, as a couple. I guess you don't even feel anything for me at all. I guess you just stay with me for something like sex. I have no idea. I'm giving you one last chance Saku. Miss this anniversary, then it's done. We're over. I'm absolutely sick of feeling empty and numb when you're away with whoever you go with, because let's think about it Sakura. Do you even care? Am I just a plaything? Someone that cooks your dinner? Or am I something that just amuses you when you're bored? Who knows? Whatever, I don't know why I waste my time crying over you. Just, be okay alright? Don't get hurt, whatever you're doing._

_Ino_

Sakura didn't actually know if you could cry when your whole body was aching so much that she was blind and deaf, however all she felt was her wet tears streaming down her cheeks and neck at how the pain seemed to shift more casually into her stricken heart.

"Sakura! We're coming! We're going back to the village! Just hang on tight!" Temari yells filled the room once again, her loud footsteps making Sakura's ears ache.

Lights seemed to be flickering on and off in Sakura's room - or maybe she was just hallucinating this - her eyes began to slowly droop until Sakura couldn't stand how the sudden weariness had just washed over her casually.

Ink. It was as numb as her heart. Sakura sighed in frustration at herself and her blonde girlfriend before letting the pain overtake her senses into an uneasy sleep.

**.X.**

"Yamanaka. Good to see that you've actually decided to hand your sheet in. Not that you're ready to lead a squad." The Jounin that Ino knew by Ami smirked at her, her arms crossed and her now wild curls covering most of her face. "Seeming as you're still a swooning idiot over Haruno as you were when you was a little brat."

Forcing her breathing out so that it looked like she wasn't actually trying, Ino steadied her shaking knuckles before letting her own smirk cross her face as she looked Ami over for a moment.

"I think that you should stop talking." She snorted, crossing her arms and leaning forward a little so that both of their noses were almost touching.

"And why is that little Pig? Scared that I might say something that will…I don't know. Hurt your feelings? Scar you?" Ami spat, a wicked smile spreading across her face as she marvelled in her satisfaction at how she thought that she had made Ino back down.

Ami's cunning smile instantly thinned at the malevolent look that appeared on Ino's features.

"Because if I hear any word that insults Sakura I will kill you where you stand." Ino whispered harshly, her cold tone striking Ami directly so that the blue-haired Jounin actually took a step back.

Of course, Ami wasn't teaching other Chuunin's for nothing. She stepped forward once again, a new kind of determination in her eyes.

"Yamanaka. You was always a love-sick fool." She jeered, uncrossing her arms and slipping only one of her hands into her kunai pouch.

"Kuzujiki. I am NOT a love-sick fool. I'm a Jounin for a reason, love doesn't matter to me!" Ino hissed between gritted teeth, her hand also slipping into her own kunai pouch.

A poke at the bottom of each of Ino's eyes drew a loud growl that had been settling in her stomach to rise to her throat.

"The bags under your eyes tell me differently." Ami sneered, letting her arms slip down to her sides once more before letting her bottom lip lower into a very taunting pout. "What's wrong Yamanaka? Having too many nightmares lately?"

The growl suddenly reforming into an animalistic snarl, Ino stepped forward which forced the other woman to once more step back.

"You have no IDEA what's going through my head." Letting her index finger curl around the kunai in her pouch, Ino thanked everything that was holy that she was taller than this insufferable, little brat. "So before you start…Lowering me to your standards of being weak then I suggest that you look at how YOUR own family ended up."

Ino gripped harder onto her kunai, letting herself explore the blue flames that had rose up in Ami's raging eyes.

"Don't you dare bring that onto me!" The furious Jounin snarled at Ino, her wild curls springing everywhere over her face so that she looked like a very wild lion. "It's not my fucking fault they left the village for no reason!"

Ino breathed slowly, anything to keep herself from drawing her kunai to silence her blood-lust for this unbearable creature in front of her.

"Excuse. Me?" Ino managed to stammer out between her almost uncontrollable breathing. "They fucking left because they was secretly giving enemy villages information before escaping and becoming missing-nins! Tell me how it is not their fault Ami!"

"Because they couldn't afford to LIVE here! They did it for MONEY Yamanaka! Money! It's what you get! Because you and that stupid Haruno are fucking favourites of the Hokage! What is my mother and father supposed to do? Huh Yamanaka?" Ami vented, her cheeks red from her rage.

"Get off their asses and get a fucking job and stop relying on other people to get it for them!" Ino found herself yelling, her eyes wide and dilated at how her self-control was slowly fading away.

"And you would know that? I bet you get TONS of people doing your job whilst you're rotting away up in that fucking apartment of yours! Over a stupid girl no less!" Ami screamed, her eyes narrowed in such fury (and with the help of her harsh words) that Ino felt her grip on the kunai lessen.

"I go to my job everyday Ami, once I get a team to lead then I will quit being a medic-nin and become a full time Jounin. I'm just returning from my work right now. I never miss a day, and even if I do, it's because I'm ill. Not over some…Stupid girl as you put it." Ino clarified, her tone cold and in such a manner she had got used to whenever she messed something up and her father was there to witness it.

"Oh yeah…That's right."

Ino blinked, startled at how all of sudden the furious Jounin seemed to have formed back into her old smirking self. Her grip tightened…

"Haruno can't be stupid if she's cheating on you with that Sand Ninja huh? I mean, let's face it Yamanaka. You _are _pretty clingy." Ami grinned, placing a hand behind her head in a mock way of making her look sheepish.

_Tighter…_

Despite herself, Ino could actually feel the _hurt_ flicker across her eyes and she could _feel _how her heart seemed to tighten just as her grip was tightening at such words that was so wrong…Yet to her it seemed to add up into puzzles of insecurities and doubts.

"W-what? How would you know that?" Ino spluttered, closing her eyes at how utterly pathetic and desperate she probably sounded. "I-I mean…How could you know that Kuzujiki? You know nothing about me and Sakura."

"Oh fucking hell. I have struck a chord." Ami laughed darkly, her narrowed eyes widening in malicious delight.

_Tighter…_

"No! You have not Kuzujiki!" Ino roared, her features twisted into her own face of ferocity. "_You have not!_"

"Oh what's wrong Yamanaka? Sick with shame? Is that throbbing in the back of your mind something called jealousy? Anger?" Ami continued to taunt, her eyes widening at how much pleasure she was having from seeing the blonde Jounin suffer from her harsh words.

_Tighter!_

"Shut up Kuzujiki." Ino commanded, her breathing ragged and deep as she tried her hardest to remain as calm as she possibly could at a time like this one.

"You don't like losing at your own game do you Yamanaka? You never did. No wonder you was sick with jealousy when Haruno got on that traitor's team along with that nine-tailed brat." Ami continued her insult of curses, each time getting stronger at seeing how Ino's eyes seemed to flicker with every sort of emotion possible.

"I was never jealous because of that! It was a different reason entirely!" Ino snapped back, voice getting more steady at how she was gradually gaining more ground over this argument.

"Right! It's because you've always loved that pink-haired slut right?"

_TIGHTER!_

Flinging the kunai out of her pouch so fast that even Ino herself couldn't exactly remember doing it, Ino pressed her childhood enemy against the wooden block of the Demejiki's Gambling Bar.

Her blonde tresses were starting to come out of her ponytail, her teeth was gritted with aggravation, the kunai was pressed so far against her enemy's throat that it actually cut the flesh and to any stranger most people would think that Ino was some wild animal let loose.

"_You have no idea how I felt…She was my best friend Ami…To lose her over something as stupid as a boy…"_ Ino turned her head away from the blue-haired Jounin for a moment before looking back after she had let out a tiny sigh of displeasure. "_It broke my heart…"_She finished with a tiny whisper, her eyes still locked with Ami's confused ones.

"Yamanaka…I-" Ami was cut off once more when the kunai that was pressed so firmly against her skin dug in deeper.

"Don't you ever! Ever! Accuse Sakura of that again! Or I promise you that I won't just stop at your neck!" Ino growled her warning, her cerulean eyes still having a wave of vengeance in them.

"Ino! Get off her!" A lazy drawl shouted out to her, drowning out all of her twisted thoughts about Temari and Sakura which Ami had planted into her mind.

Knowing exactly who that irritating voice belonged to, Ino gave Ami one last look before turning her back on the blue-haired Jounin and walking towards the shadow of a man that was leaning against a building's outside wall.

"Shikamaru!" She called out to the shadow, her anger loosening a little until she was sure that she wasn't ready to snap the shadow-user's head off when she got to where the lazy bastard was waiting for her.

Feeling an arm pull her to the right, Ino was greeted with Shikamaru's disappointed frown which made Ino snort at such a look that was on his face.

"Why in Kami's name did you pull that stunt for?" He asked, his arms crossed and a smoke still perched neatly in his mouth.

"Simple. She was pissing me off." Ino replied back stubbornly, folding her arms and glaring at the back of Ami as she rounded a corner.

"For the love of…" Shikamaru shook his head, placing a firm hand on Ino's shoulder and shaking it lightly. "Ino, you shouldn't let her get to you. You know she's just jealous of you."

Ino resisted the temptation to role her eyes. "Jealous? Of me? Yeah fucking right. You didn't hear what she said." She finished softly, her voice breaking a little as the thoughts crossed her mind once more.

Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, Shikamaru quickly picked his smoke out of his mouth before throwing it next to his foot and stamping on it.

"What did she say then, eh? It can't have been that bad seeming as it got _you_ upset."

Ino gave him a glare in response, her lower lip quivering a little as she once again turned her face away from him to hide her not-so-well-hid emotions.

"Nothing. Fuck off." Ino retorted back, her fingernails digging sharply into her unblemished skin as waves of suspicion washed over her once more.

"We can play this game all you want Ino." Shikamaru stated in his laziest drawl. "But I actually need to tell you something that might, or might not make you happy so hurry up and tell me what's wrong before Tsunade flips her lid and storms down here to find you herself."

Even if Ino had told herself that she wasn't going to keep listening to this stupid bastard, she couldn't help but curiously look back at her team-mate. Even to herself she knew that her gaze was piercing and she also knew that was the gaze that would make Shikamaru explain his actions and forget hers in doing so.

"I'll explain once you have." He smiled tenderly, reading her mind and eyes immediately.

Groaning, Ino massaged her temples with her two index fingers before turning around to face her friend, her mind aching and wracking with guilt at how much suspicion she held.

"You normally fall for that trick." She murmured, letting her body fall into Shikamaru's waiting arms.

Wrapping his arms around her supple waist in a brotherly fashion, Shikamaru rested his chin on the top of Ino's head, shaking her slightly to try and still her dry sobs of anger.

"Ugh. It's so old that even I don't fall for it anymore Ino." Shikamaru yawned, leaning against the wall behind him, bringing Ino's still wracking body with him as he went.

Pouting against his chest, Ino silenced herself into muffled sobs when she pushed her face closer into his chest until she had to move herself back so that she could actually pronounce a sentence.

"D-Do you think Sakura is cheating on me with Temari?" She mumbled, looking down at her Jounin shoes and wishing that the ground would swallow her whole because of how stupid she probably looked and sounded.

A low chuckle caught her off guard and she instantly looked up to scowl at how amused Shikamaru seemed to look at her speech - which had been making her feel so embarrassed that she was surprised that she hadn't turned into a volcano and erupted!

"That, by far is the most stupidest thing that has ever come out of your mouth." Shikamaru stated bluntly, using his tongue so that he could move his smoke - which he had got out of his pouch next to his kunai as soon as Ino had turned her back on him- to the side of his mouth. "Have you ever seen Sakura be anything but friends towards Temari?"

Ino tried to keep herself from smiling at a fond memory which seemed to be just resurfacing in her mind, however she just couldn't, the memory was far too funny and even more satisfying to know that Sakura had missed out a 'girl's night out' (the only two girls going would be her Saku and Temari of course) to spend time with HER.

That time by the way, was spent cuddling and then having hot passionate sex outside while voyeurs had decided to watch something as beautiful and loving as two women having sex underneath the stars.

"No." She finally replied, her cheeks blazing and her smile wide at such a gratifying memory as that one. "Sakura has always chosen me…Over Temari anyway."

"Over everyone." Shikamaru corrected, letting his arms slowly unwrap around Ino's waist to dig themselves into his deep pockets. "You have no idea how much she loves you Ino, no idea at all."

Ino couldn't help herself at this. Shikamaru was telling her how much SAKURA loved her and this was something that she couldn't just let slip out of her fingers.

"That's great and all Shikamaru. It really is. But if she loves me so much, answer me this much." Ino felt her shoulders slump over, her smile that she had been wearing so proudly moments ago, died away quickly. "Why doesn't she tell me herself? She never says it, she always…Tries to dismiss it. As if it's nothing but some old piece of crap that's not even important to some homeless person!"

"I could actually tell you why she doesn't tell you, but I don't think I'm the person that should tell you it." Shikamaru answered instantly, spitting his new smoke out of his mouth to stamp on it once more. "Now, forgetting all your problems at the moment. The Hokage wants you to go to the hospital immediately."

Biting her tongue to try and resist to shout out very loudly at how Tsunade can go fuck Shizune, Ino merely fluttered her eyelashes in annoyance.

"And what for? I've done my work, I want to go home and eat good food at the moment. Tell her she can go fuck Shizune and thank her for wasting your time and mine." Ino smiled bitterly, rolling her eyes and turning her back on Shikamaru before walking past him down the pavement towards hers and Sakura's apartment.

"You won't be saying that when you know that Sakura's team had to come back early from their mission because Sakura has had an injury that Tsunade and the others are just now looking at." Shikamaru replied idly, rubbing his foot into the dirt to cover up his smoke traces.

His lip curled up into a smirk at how the padded footsteps seemed to stop and the way that the shadow which was Ino's body stopped all of sudden.

A small moan of frustration.

"Oh fuck. What the fuck are you standing there for? Take me to the damn hospital!" Ino screeched, suddenly appearing to grab the lobe of Shikamaru's ear and dragging him across Konoha with the brutal strength she had developed.

**.X.**

Tsunade pushed the papers in front of the Sharingan user, her face sullen and void any emotion as she did so.

Kakashi merely glanced down at the papers, his face scrunched up in confusion and plain utter curiosity.

"Oh." Was all he could mutter, his fingertips tracing the pictures gently. It was if he was stroking the fine piece of art.

"Oh! Is that all you can say?!" Tsunade yelled in uproar, her anger so clear that even Kakashi flinched, he obviously knew that it was not wise to try and upset the only thing that was keeping his manhood intact. "Do you even know what this could mean?"

Kakashi resisted to smile gently underneath his mask, knowing that he would upset the already seething Hokage if he did so. Of course he would know what it would mean, he was not stupid and he was most certainly not stupid enough to let this happen to Sakura.

"Yes I do. And that is why you have called me in? To seal it?" His gaze was unwavering, his muscles relaxed whilst he stared into Tsunade's motherly-worried amber eyes.

"Yes…That's the only thing I can think of." With a heavy sigh, Tsunade flopped back in her chair.

"Do you know how she managed to get this?" Kakashi asked, his head tilted curiously to his left so that he could study the picture more carefully.

"Yep. In fact we've gone and studied into it and have got more than we bargained for." Tsunade responded calmly, her fingers tapping against each other to distract her from any wavering thoughts that was running freely in her mind.

"And? Why has Orochimaru's Curse Mark suddenly appeared on Sakura's neck?"

"It's simple really. Sasuke has somehow managed to penetrate into her dreams and have somehow turned something into a reality. In other words, he can read her mind, see everything she's doing and possibly more. Problem is. We don't know how much." Tsunade explained, grabbing her aching forehead and resting it in her hands. "That's why I want you to seal the Curse Mark up and try to see if that will stop Sasuke from using Sakura's body."

Kakashi once more resisted a smile. "It's not going to be easy."

"I think Ino will take care of her…For her own sake."

(_Don't shout at me for not updating for ages okay? I've had a rough time and I don't want to explain all my shit to you so please be quiet and review. Thank you. :)__ You rock.)_

_1: Ever felt like everytime you try to get near to something/someone you tend to keep getting further away?_


	4. Make Me Warm

_LOL. My name is now LONGER than it was before. I apologize. :D Anyways, thank you all for the reviews and hopefully I'll be getting more when the action starts. J Kay, thanks all. (Read Below)_

**Chapter 4**

**Make Me Warm**

"Hey, hey, hey Grandma!" Naruto yelled, jumping out of his bed and running to the window that showed the corridor of the hospitals main exterior where a frustrated-looking Tsunade was leaning against a hospital chair, head in hands.

Naruto beamed as the Hokage looked up at him, the creases on her forehead seemed to deepen in confusion as she seemed to try and see what she should do or say to him.

Feeling his smile strain a little, Naruto turned his back on his so called 'Grandma', his face now feeling like someone had stomped on it while he tried to work out why Granny Tsunade was suddenly so frustrated and confused at something. From what he could see, it was probably something that was either life-changing or something terrible had happened to another team and his Granny Tsunade was letting her mind linger over it.

Oh well, whatever it was he was sure that he could cheer his old Granny up so that she would at least tell him how Sakura was doing and if she wanted his help in those 'special' missions - as Tsunade had called it.

A large frown came to his face at this thought, how stupid was everyone in this damn hospital!? Couldn't they see that he was READY to go help Sakura? Why did they always persist and pester that he was simply not strong enough. Hah! Strong enough! Surely they knew the chakra that was running through his whole body? Surely they knew how powerful he was when he needed to be? Surely?

Stomping his feet in aggravation, Naruto grunted as he flung himself on his hospital bed to yank his dark crimson shirt off just to fling it to the ground so that he could sit there cross legged, eyes unmoving and distant.

It seemed unfair to him, he was twenty-four after all and yet nobody believed he could look after himself, that he was weak and needed to be looked after so that he didn't get himself into another 'insane' accident.

Where was Sakura? She had promised to visit him whenever but after three weeks of promises, the pink-haired woman had not shown once to visit him and nobody had told him where she was apart from these special missions that she seemed to love going on.

Pouting his lower lip, Naruto scratched his bare scar blemished chest whilst he let his thoughts travel over where Sakura could be at this precise moment - that was if she was still alive…

Nonsense! Curse him for thinking like that! Sakura-chan couldn't die on him! She was a strong Kunoichi and Naruto knew that from the way she got on the ANBU squad after one attempt of going through the examinations.

A bitter smile crept across his face. "Sakura will probably be a stronger Hokage as well…" Shaking his head, Naruto lets himself lean back into the warmth of his two soft pillows.

"_I suppose I shouldn't get so jealous of Sakura-chan…Besides, she's my __best friend_. If she ever became Hokage then I should feel proud of her, not sour like some old man about it." Naruto mumbles, letting his blonde locks that have seemed to grow longer over time tickle his face.

Letting his legs uncurl so that they could stretch out at the end of his perfectly laid-out bed, Naruto muffled a yawn with his arm while his thoughts once more seemed to want to explore so much that he was finding it hard to think properly about what was going on around him and what he should do so that he could sort it all out for everyone.

Naruto _feels_ the latch on his door switch up, the metal slowly scraping against the wood and the wood then slowly scratching the hospital's tiled floor.

"Naruto." A quiet but commanding voice says his name, like a captain talking to his lowers, passionate but forceful.

A smirk settles on his face as he recognises the voice immediately at the same time as padded footsteps crossed over to him so quietly that Naruto felt his ears strain to hear it.

"Granny Tsunade! Hey there!" He doesn't leap out of his bed like he used to anymore, besides, what would the point be? To show everyone how he HASN'T grown up? Not an option.

Instead he lies there, arms still covering his cerulean eyes, covering and hiding his emotions away like he has learned to.

"We'll be letting you out soon, y'know? I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you." The tenderness in Tsunade's voice makes Naruto's body tense guiltily for a second before it once more relaxes as a gentle hand is placed on his arm. "Everyone's missed you, y'know? Even Temari said that she missed you, even if you ARE an annoying little twerp."

A low chuckle escapes Naruto's sore throat, startling them both at how raw his own voice sounds.

"Well gee, let me guess. She was the one who said that?" Naruto asked, letting his arms move slowly away from his face to uncloak himself so that the world could see him once more.

"Obviously, don't be fooled by her though. She's very fond of you." Tsunade grinned, flicking Naruto's nose lightly before resting on the end of the hospital bed. "Though at the moment I think all you need is a good party and some sake." Her face dropped for a second.

"On second thought, drop the sake." She added, looking dismissively into her pocket before looking up at him once more.

Nodding, Naruto let a grimace cover his face, his eyes hardening and his whole body tensing once again at his own thoughts.

"Hey." Something poked him hard in the chest and Naruto found himself looking up into deep caramel eyes. "Don't look so down, everyone visited you when you was asleep and most tried to get in to see you, including Sakura, but we couldn't let them in because of reasons that at the moment we'd like to keep to ourselves."

Instinctively, Naruto growled angrily at her. "Fine. But I don't like what you're doing. I don't even like what Sakura-chan is doing. It's dangerous and I really wished she'd stop seeming as she will never be able to manage do it." (1)

Ignoring his angry glance, Tsunade laughed heartily, ruffling his blonde spikes affectionately and letting her nails catch against his scalp occasionally.

"You sound like a grumpy old man." Tsunade scowled jokingly, hitting the blonde man over the head with two fingers. "Anyway, wasn't it YOU who asked her to do these missions?"

Snorting, Naruto crossed his arms and glared directly at his old Granny Tsunade with such vehemence that Tsunade eyed him wearily so that she looked like she was trying to keep her anger in - which of course was to hide that she was actually checking his chakra levels so that it warned her whenever the Kyuubi's chakra was going to come into play.

"I was on my deathbed at that time! I mumbled something stupid and that was the most stupidest idea I've ever had! I don't want her to do it no more! And she knows that! That's why she hasn't come to visit me in the three weeks because she knows I'll tell her to stop!" Naruto snarled, his nostrils flaring. "It's because of me that she's addicted to this stupid ass mission! It's because of me that she has to go look! For Kami's sake! Why can't I keep my fucking mouth closed, huh Granny Tsunade? Is it because of the Kyuubi? Or is it me? Everyone seems to think it's me seeming as the Kyuubi is INSIDE of me. It might as well be me…" Naruto finished off weakly, his glare softening into a small frown.

A quick swipe of air, flesh colliding with flesh, flesh becoming red, scowls and shocked looks and that was what left Uzumaki Naruto speechless along with holding his cheek with both of his hands.

"Uzumaki Naruto…Never in my life of knowing you have I EVER seen you take pity on yourself. Get a grip! If you can't, then there is no point of telling you what has happened to Sakura and why she is in this hospital! Seeming as you might FAINT at the news I'm about to give you!" Tsunade glowered, her cheeks red with rage at the Jinchuuriki, her hands balled up into fists of fury.

Feeling that his heart had stopped, Naruto could only nod numbly at the Hokage which was no surprise that his senses dulled thanks to the wonder shouting at he had just received.

"W-What happened to Sakura-chan?!" His heart leaped into throat, the covers that had only been partially covering his chest slid down his body when his muscular body leaned back up from the hospital bed.

"Are you positive you aren't going to run into the room and shake her so much that the pain that has probably only just left her body come back again?" Tsunade asked stiffly, still not really forgiving (or maybe the right word was understanding) Naruto or his actions.

"Granny Tsunade!" Naruto pleaded, trying to pout his lower lip so adorably that Tsunade would at least talk (listen) to him a bit more.

"Fine. Fine. Just don't freak out ya? We still have to tell Ino about this y'know? So shut your trap after hearing this." Tsunade sniffed huffily, crossing her legs and leaning back against the railings of Naruto's bed.

"Right, where do I begin…" Tsunade started, tapping her chin thoughtfully with her index finger. "Okay, well as you know about Sakura's special missions, I'm just going to tell you that after resting up at the Iorka Inn that she was…" She trailed off.

Naruto arched an eyebrow questioningly at the muddled Hokage.

"Poisoned wouldn't be the correct word, but it's as close as we're going to get to the right name for it so…Let's just say that _Sasuke_ had something to do with it. And because of that…" The Hokage looked down at her hands. "Sakura now has Orochimaru's Curse Mark at it's first stage and to make things worse we believe that Sasuke has somehow been trying to get to Sakura through her _dreams_. As well as trying to control her body for his own doings…"

A shatter of glass was heard, Tsunade looked up to see that Naruto was hunched over while his fist was imprinted into the glass vase that had been beside his hospital bed despite the fact that it was impossible seeming as Tsunade had directly told the hospital staff to make sure the glass was PLASTIC.

Ignoring the rare event of how the plastic had somehow managed to turn into shards of glass, Tsunade gulped before resting a trembling hand on the Jinchuuriki's shoulder.

"N-Naruto. I know that you think this is your fault but it isn't…S-She's going to be okay, she's just managed to get through the pain and it seems that the mark has gotten used to her chakra and-" Tsunade cut herself off, irritated at hearing how she had been in control which slowly turned into useless nonsense.

"_Did she find out where Sasuke is?"_ A deep voice emitted from Naruto's throat in addition to that, before Tsunade knew it, dark crimson chakra was outlining Naruto's body faintly.

Uncertain on what to say, Tsunade had no idea if she was talking to the Kyuubi or a very furious Naruto. (2) It didn't matter, she wouldn't say anything personal to Naruto or Kyuubi, despite that she trusted Naruto with every ounce of being that she held inside of herself. And that was A LOT of trust. Believe it or not.

"_Are you scared of me? Or didn't you hear me very well? Did she find out where Sasuke was or not?"_ The strangled voice called out to her once more, once again feeding on her well-hidden fear.

Shinobi do not show fear. Everyone knew that. Anyways, Tsunade had a bet that the Kyuubi (or Naruto) could smell it anyway so showing her fear would just add to the satisfaction of knowing that she was indeed afraid.

"Who am I speaking to?" Tsunade questioned the hunched figure cautiously, her eyes flickering over everything in the room which she could use if needed to try and calm Naruto down.

"_Me Granny Tsunade…It's always been me." _The voice seemed to have the power to squash the oxygen out of Tsunade's rigid body, seeming at how the Hokage found it hard to breathe.

Nevertheless, Tsunade wasn't feared for her strength and many other abilities (some say even the most ridiculous things on that subject) for nothing and she soon found out that she would need to actually speak to get herself out of this situation - getting Naruto to calm down would just be an added bonus.

"Naruto…Calm down properly or I'll be forced to call the ANBU down here…And that's something I do NOT want to do." Tsunade warned, eyes narrowed suspiciously at the still hunched over blonde man.

"_You're scared of me?"_ The voice crackled, to Tsunade it seemed that Naruto was finally calming down enough that his voice would turn to it's normal bubbly tone soon.

"Worried. Not scared." Tsunade corrected, hands clenching as a trickle of sweat ran down the back of her neck and down her spine.

"I'm sorry…" Naruto spoke back sombrely, his body shaking with tremors and his body coated with a sheen of sweat over his bare chest.

"I already told you Naruto, it isn't your fault about what happened." Tsunade paused for a second, placing a hand on Naruto's shaking shoulders and squeezing reassuringly. "In fact, if anyone's fault and I don't say this lightly. It is Sakura's fault for going on with it." (3)

Naruto flinched at her words, not knowing if he should feel rage that Granny Tsunade would say that about someone who she saw as her daughter or because he knew that it was true in addition to that knowing that being angry at himself was a waste of time and effort.

"Is she gonna be okay?" He only just managed to get out, his brow creased in worry for his best friend. He had already lost a so-called friend. He didn't see why he had to lose another for the same reason.

"Do you want me to be honest with you?" Tsunade asked, her eyes guarding the truth from the Jinchuuriki until she knew his answer.

"I thought that you was always honest with me." Naruto replied seriously, a grimace featuring on his face.

A sincere smile instantly found its way on Tsunade's face, lighting up her face in a somehow manageable childish amusement.

"Of course. I'm sorry for sounding like I wasn't." Pressing a light kiss on the Jinchuuriki's forehead, she leaned back once more.

"And to answer your question…We believe she'll be fine." Tsunade muttered softly, her hands sliding down Naruto's shoulders to rest under his elbows.

"You believe?" Naruto's voice had once more become hard and an irritating tone of fury at such little information that he had translated his anger into his voice to use against her again.

"We aren't a 100% sure Naruto. Surely you must know that we are trying our best to stop another Sasuke re-run." Tsunade was surprised at her own shoot of ferocity that had managed to flow into her voice.

Naruto blinked back his tears hard. "Yeah…I know. It's just that…" He looked down at his trembling hands before gripping them into tight fists. "Without Sakura-chan…I have nobody. Not really. I'll be alone again."

With those four words, Tsunade felt her restraint crumble into shards, her guard suddenly dropping, her emotions of guilt and shame finally surfacing on her delicate features.

Her barriers…They used to be so heavily guarded that even the most gentlest man or woman in the world wouldn't affect her in the slightest. Yet, this boy (this _man_) made her and her walls collapse into dust.

Heaving a large sigh, Tsunade wrapped her arms around the emotional-stricken boy and let him sob dryly onto her shoulder whilst whispering sweet soothing words into his ear.

"Oh Naruto…" Eyes closed, Tsunade rested her chin on his right shoulder. "You'll never be alone…By Kami, Sakura will be fine. I promise you."

All Naruto could do was nod, tears still spilling from his eyes and making his cheeks even wetter than before.

**.X.**

"You freaking crazy bitch!" Sakura yelled, shielding her eyes from Temari's eyeliner of doom as the sandy-haired blonde repeatedly stabbed her with her make up essential.

"Ha! Oh come on! Just let me repaint your mark! It will look GREAT in GREEN." Temari persisted, giggling as Sakura slapped her eyeliner away once more.

"Fucking crazy, you do know that this thing is powerful right?" Sakura shrieked, placing both of her hands over her curse mark.

"Oh relax! Or I'll tickle you!" Temari cackled, putting down her eyeliner on the shelf next to Sakura's hospital bed before turning back to the pink-haired woman and giving a mischievous snarl.

Sakura - who by now had forgotten the faint pain that was on the back of her neck - squinted her eyes at the Sand Ninja.

"You wouldn't."

Temari braced her fingers, her grin still painted on her features as she took a step towards Sakura's bed.

"Oh fuck!"

Laughing, Temari let her fingers caress and tickle every weak spot that she could find, enjoying that she was bringing Sakura to whimpers and squeals with her actions.

A slam of the door awoke both of them from their laughing fits and that was the thing that made both of them look up to see a very distraught-looking Ino and a disapproving (grimacing) Shikamaru.

Ino's eyes narrowed sceptically, taking in how Temari's and Sakura's bodies seemed to look VERY close together and how they both seemed to look shocked to see her presence.

"Ahem." Ino cleared her throat, her forehead creased in frustration at how her doubts seemed to have risen once more no thanks to Temari's and Sakura's close proximity towards each other.

"Ino!" Sakura's face lit up, a grin taking her features whilst her arms opened wide to try and beckon the blonde Jounin into her sweet embrace.

Crossing her arms, Ino let her steely eyed gaze rest on the still surprised Sand Ninja and it took everything inside of her not to march up to the Sand bitch and show her that Sakura was _hers _and hers alone!

"Am I…" She trailed off so that she could look at Sakura once more. "Interrupting anything? Should I go?" Ino bit her lower lip to restrain herself from yelling abuse at them both, she was just so jealous.

"Yes." The Sand Ninja murmured grumpily, her teal eyes also having the flicker of resentment in them that reflected Ino's.

"NO! Don't listen to Temari! She's just joking. RIGHT TEMARI?" Sakura nudged the Sand Ninja in the ribs, grinning sheepishly at how Ino was giving Temari more death glances.

Before Temari could reply, Shikamaru stepped forward. "Temari, I think Naruto wanted to see you."

Temari instantly looked up, confusion replacing the rage for a moment before the woman nodded and lifted herself up from the hospital bed.

"See ya Saku, Shikamaru." She waved, ignoring Ino completely as she unlatched the door to head out into the busy corridors.

"Uh. Well. Gotta go. Need to see the Hokage for something." Shikamaru mumbled quickly, also leaving the room without looking back to see what he was sure would be an argument and awkwardness that he didn't want to be involved in.

"…" Ino refused to let her gaze linger on Sakura for even a second, she wouldn't allow herself to do so. It would be wrong and Ino hated it when she did things wrong. Besides, Sakura had to pay for what she kept doing to her and Ino knew that refusing to talk to the pinkette would only be a very subtle punishment - seeing as Ino always seemed to cave in at the end of it all.

"Why won't you look at me?" Sakura's voice penetrated Ino's thoughts, almost making the blonde Jounin look at the injured ANBU. "Okay, let me rephrase that, how angry are you at the moment?"

Ino snorted, arms still crossed as she walked over to sit on the end of Sakura's hospital bed.

"Oh from a scale of one to ten, I would have to go with _twenty-five_!" Ino snarled, turning her head away whenever Sakura tried to touch her face with trembling fingers.

"Kami Ino, I didn't know you was THAT mad. What did I do?" Sakura questioned, throwing her hands up in the air to emphasise herself more clearly to her girlfriend - hopefully, her girlfriend WAS still her girlfriend.

"Oh I don't know." Ino hissed, her nostrils flaring and without realizing it she was actually baring her teeth at the pinkette. "Maybe you going off on these so called missions with Temari no doubt and maybe I'm feeling just a little insecure because someone who I've been going out with for a year hasn't even told me ONCE that she's fucking loved me! Apart from that, then fuck I don't know!"

Sakura felt her heart jump in her throat. Didn't Ino know how much she loved her? Couldn't she tell that she did? Didn't Ino know that when Naruto had whispered in her ear at Asuma-sensei's funeral that Ino loved her that she had felt butterflies in her stomach? Didn't she know how jealous she got whenever Ino would hang around with Lee and Shikamaru and let them help her in her training when she knew that they were both just very good friends to her lover? Didn't she know that she was doing these missions to protect Ino and to try and make everyone happy once and for all?

'_No she doesn't. Because you never tell her. You hide it and try your very best to keep it a secret as much as you can. You try to hide your emotions from her, you try to distance yourself but in the end you can't help BUT get close to her. And to be honest with yourself, you know that if you do that maybe the pain will go away. It's YOUR fault that you've got this curse mark and it's YOUR fault that Ino's in so much anguish because of you leaving every twenty-minutes.'_

Finally remembering to breathe, Sakura exhaled slowly, her insides aching from how much her conscious seemed to battering her as if it was angry at her as well.

It seemed weird that she thought her conscious was an 'it' but at that time and place, Sakura no longer cared.

Ignoring Ino's whines, Sakura cupped the blonde Jounin's face in her hands and leaned forward to place a peck on the blonde's chapped lips. "One day Ino." Sakura moved her nose so that it nuzzled into the hollow of her neck. "All I ask of you is to wait for me…"

Sakura felt Ino trembled which drew a smile across her face. "Please? Sometimes things are better to wait for."

"Fine. But don't think you're forgiven for this little trick just yet. Shithead." Ino bitterly replied, wrapping her arms around Sakura's lean waist.

Grinning, Sakura snuggled more into the delicious warmth of her lover whilst moving her nose to Ino's collarbone and letting her tongue slowly peek out to lick at Ino's collar lightly.

"Don't do that shithead, I don't want to forgive you at the moment. You're making it harder for me." Ino growled, trying to pull herself away from Sakura's persistent licking, but finding that she couldn't due to her own desire to collapse in said woman's arms.

"Mhm. Maybe I should keep being so stubborn and not listen to you?" Sakura giggled against Ino's skin, letting her tongue trail down so that it rested just above the top of Ino's Jounin jacket. "Or you could just make me warm. Get it?" Sakura winked, her hands trailing up Ino's body.

Before Sakura's hands could go any further, Ino grabbed the pinkette's wrists and brought them down to her crossed legs.

"Wait." Ino whispered. "Tell me something, and I want to know ONLY the truth. Are you prepared to answer me?"

"Depends on what you're going to say to me doesn't it?" Sakura replied, soothing Ino with how patient the pink-haired woman seemed to be with her.

"H-have you ever cheated on me? W-with anyone like…I don't know…Temari?" Ino cringed inwardly, closing her eyes to welcome the obvious yes that was going to spill from Sakura's lips.

Ino honestly didn't expect to be pushed back against the hospital bed, her back hitting the mattress and soft lips mashing with her own in a ravenous attempt to answer her question.

Groaning, Ino tried to tell herself that she must resist this until Sakura gave her an answer. She _must_.

"Never. Never have. Never will." Sakura replied in between kissing just under Ino's jaw line. "Believe it or not Ino, I don't say those words to you because I'm afraid. All I need is time. And all I need for you to do is wait for me. Can you do that?"

Ino faintly felt her Jounin jacket being pushed off her shoulders as she thought to herself over the question that Sakura had just asked her.

Could she? Of course she could, she had told herself that she loved Sakura and many people told her that they could SEE that she loved Sakura. The only problem was if she would wait. Why should she anyway? Sakura hadn't exactly been the most truthful one in the relationship, why should she wait for someone who hadn't been honest with her.

"I think I can…" Ino murmured, only just noticing that her black Jounin sweater along with her blue tank top underneath was rolled up so that her lace-covered breasts were showing for only Sakura to enjoy.

"That's all I ask for. And why aren't you stopping me if you're angry with me?" Sakura questioned the blonde, knowing for sure that she was risking her chances of having the blonde woman before she would go home and cuddle together on the couch - whilst eating curry of course.

"I-I forgot what I was angry about…" Ino panted, her eyelids half-lidded because of Sakura's actions of massaging her breasts and letting a hand travel down south towards Ino's Jounin pants.

Sakura smirked, letting her mouth envelope Ino's nipple through the lace before beginning to lick and nibble around the pert nipple - these actions making Ino clutch at Sakura's scalp whilst moaning at the shoot of warmth that ran down her body and in between her legs.

Now that she had two hands free, Sakura used one of them to massage Ino's breast whilst she continued her actions on Ino's nipple, letting the pads of her digits pinch and tease around Ino's breast until the blonde was forced into whimpering at how much of a turn on Sakura was when she was being dominant.

"Okay horny lesbians. Get up." A voice commanded behind them and Sakura let out a huff of frustration.

"Fucking hell Tsunade, you do pick your moments." Sakura cursed loudly, letting go of Ino's nipple and sitting up to directly glare at her mentor.

"At the moment, I'm still very angry with you so I'm just going to ignore what you just said." Tsunade spoke in such a childish manner than Sakura almost rolled her eyes at the act.

"So you want to talk to Ino?" Sakura asked, looking away from Tsunade and back down to the wonderful girlfriend she was straddling.

Grinning like a mad woman, Sakura was overly pleased at how flush Ino's skin looked and how much the woman was panting, it seemed that the woman was almost out of breath. And it was all because of her.

"Gee Ino, you look out of breath? You okay?" Sakura teased, leaning forward to place a kiss on Ino's forehead.

"Ugh. Shithead." Ino grunted, leaning up so that she could see Tsunade over Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura get dressed, Ino let's go outside for a second. I think there is something you might want to know."

_(1) Naruto is a grown man. He's become more mature and he knows disaster when he see's one. Jeez. I despise fictions when they make Naruto such an idiot that even the Naruto used in the series is more mature. God people, Naruto is more mature than most of the characters. _

_(2) I decided that Naruto could have the ability to let Kyuubi take over his body if he wanted to. Believe it or not. I think Kyuubi is attached to Naruto in a guardian kind of way. Does this make Naruto dangerous? No. Only if his emotions explode, that's the only time Kyuubi will be able to get out of Naruto._

_(3) Yes, Tsunade believes it is Sakura's fault. Why? It's pretty simple. Sakura has become addicted to being a hard worker. She thinks that these missions are now just a schedule in her life that she has to do everyday. Besides, who else to believe it is Sakura's fault apart from Tsunade? As I've said before, I believe that Tsunade is a good mother figure for Sakura. _

_Hah. Review...__Now. Thank you. Oh and for the people who are confused. I was originally TeenTitanDoctorTorch._

_Updated 11/3/09: I'm not sure if I'm discontinuing or putting this fiction on hold. I just wanted you to know that if I AM putting this fiction on hold then I wouldn't be expecting an update until two months from now. Yeah, sorry.  
If I'm discontinuing this fiction well...You won't get an update will you? I dunno. I just don't want to update on a fiction that nobody is really bothered with. I'm not DESPERATE for reviews. On the contrary, reviews are really only to make me update faster and to help me with my writing. Apart from that, I don't mind. But nothing's happening and I don't want to continue on a story that as I said before, nobody is bothered with. So, I'll think about it._


	5. Sorting Shit Out

_Okay, you can throw abuse at me. I understand. And for people who are confused my name used to be TeenTitanDoctorTorch and I'm the author/writer of Pretty Baby. And shall always be the author/writer of Pretty Baby. I'm going to give this fiction one last chance. Even if it kills me in the process. Yeah, aren't you lucky that I'm so reliable. LOL. Okay, I'm shutting up. Promise._

**Chapter 5**

**Sorting Shit Out**

Tsunade's amber eyes flittered over the tense blonde Jounin in front of her, her rigid body made Tsunade feel sick and anger at Sakura at how much the blonde woman had suffered ever since the pinkette had disappeared.

"I think you should sit down Ino." Tsunade spoke calmly, gesturing to the seat in front of her desk. "This might be a little hard for you to actually understand but I think we'll be able to get pass this obstacle."

Ino arched her left eyebrow, fists clenched and her arms crossed against her breasts while trying her hardest not to tackle Tsunade to the ground and make the Hokage tell her what the hell was going on without making it seem like Ino was going to immediately have a seizure because of the news.

"I don't think sitting down will be an option." Ino growled heatedly and on instinct her right foot crashed into the chair's legs which on contact broke into wooden pieces.

Tsunade merely sighed, her fingers curled across each other while she tapped her foot patiently on the wooden floor, as if she was trying to steady herself into her normal self - which was calm, demure and modest…Obviously.

"I see that, however Ino I have to ask you to restrain yourself from attacking anyone." Tsunade responded simply, her eyes wavering over to the door where she kept some of her ANBU guards just in case Ino actually did lose it and started a rampage.

"Cut the crap already and tell me what the fuck is going on with my Sakura before I start to hyperventilate!" Ino hissed, eyes closed and her fingers were massaging her temples as she spoke.

Tsunade couldn't help herself. A tender, motherly smile crept on her face at the aggravated blonde's words. Words of love.

"She's your Sakura?" Tsunade felt her whole heart swell up with love for the blonde Jounin, and she hoped that Sakura - a daughter to her in a way - actually deserved Ino's love.

Ino instantly blushed, her hands tangling themselves in her luscious blonde locks whilst she bit her lips to shreds to try and calm herself down from the high she was now in thanks to Tsunade's question.

"Uhm…Well…Yeah. Duh. Course she is." Ino murmured, looking down at her feet as she unconsciously shuffled towards Tsunade's desk in an attempt to try and get this meeting over and done with so that she could leave with her shattered pieces of dignity.

Sighing whilst rolling her eyes at the Jounin's sudden shy behaviour, Tsunade scratched her cheek thoughtfully, clicking her tongue as the blonde Jounin slowly looked up at her with impatience written all over her unblemished skin.

"Are you actually going to tell me anything or am I supposed to wait here until I have an epiphany or something?" Ino scowled, her eyes holding so much suspicion in them that Tsunade had to bite back a laugh at how childish Ino looked.

"I'm actually thinking how I should go about telling you, it's not exactly going to be easy after you know all about it." Tsunade explained bluntly, shrugging her shoulders as if she was actually considering questioning herself on this decision.

"I don't fucking care how you tell me, I want to know what's wrong with Saku right now!" Ino demanded, actually stomping her foot at the same time as leaning forward so that she was only inches away from the Hokage.

Tsunade crumbled the piece of paper that she in her hands into shreds, a vein throbbing in her forehead along with her muscles that were now probably throbbing with so much pressure they were being put under thanks to her rage that was now bubbling deeply at the bottom of her stomach.

"Yamanaka…I suggest you sit down right this instance before I actually forget what I was supposed to be telling you and instead send you right back down to the Academy with the little students that are preparing to be Genin!" Tsunade snarled, leaning across her desk to glare angrily at the blonde woman. "Maybe that will teach you a lesson!"

Ino bit her bottom lip once more, fingers clenched around the yellow band that Sakura had given to her on their first actual date together and Ino instantly wished that Sakura was with her right now - holding her hand and actually telling this mad woman known as Tsunade off for scaring the living day lights out of her.

Looking around for a spare seat, Ino realized with a smirk that she had broken the last one into splinters and there wouldn't be another seat anytime soon unless Tsunade offered Ino her own special, comfy chair which would only happen when hell froze over.

"W-what-" Ino began but was cut off by Tsunade yanking herself up, slamming her palms against her desk and looking fiercely at Ino, her amber eyes now ablaze with ferocity.

"Yamanaka, do you love my Sakura?" Tsunade growled, eyes looking Ino up and down as if she was suddenly studying human biology.

Ino tried her hardest not to grimace, no matter how many times she had heard Shizune call Sakura 'Tsunade's Sakura' she could never help but feel disgusted at how motherly Tsunade was to _her_ Sakura.

"Uhm. Duh. I mean, yes ma'mm." Ino wondered if it would be either considered rude or polite to salute and bow at her leader, even if she wanted nothing more but to bash her head against the wall and surrender to everlasting sleep.

"Do you want to please her?" Tsunade questioned, leaning more forward so that Ino could actually feel Tsunade's hot breath all over her face.

"Of course I do!" Ino protested, lifting her hands up and taking a step back when Tsunade once more snarled at her as if she had said something clearly that wasn't supposed to be said.

"THEN WHY IN KAMI'S NAME DO YOU KEEP ANNOYING ME?" Tsunade snapped, fist banging against her desk so forcefully Ino was shell shocked that the desk didn't break under the weight of it.

Squeaking, Ino felt herself collapse cross legged so that she was now staring up at her one and only master (well, the one that she would obey when it came to business matters whilst other matters - sex for example - then her master would always be Sakura) with a face which would have made most women and men cave at how adorable and lost it looked.

'_Gee Saku, and I thought I had my hands full with my mom!'_ Ino thought with a shudder, hoping that Tsunade hadn't noticed it and guessed what was running through her mind.

"Fine then, seeming as you've now got over that little tantrum of _oh I'm so superior_." Tsunade grumbled, settling back into her seat, eyes closed in concentration of her thoughts. "Then I'm sure we can begin on what has happened to Sakura, so I'm going to tell you exactly how I told Naruto, lets-"

Ino couldn't help it, something stung at her heart instantly. "Naruto knew before me?" Of all the people in this already fucked up world. Sure she wouldn't have minded if Tsunade had told Naruto _after_ her, but no! Naruto had to come first.

"Ino…" Tsunade warned, eyebrow arched as if daring the blonde to try and take this a step further.

"I can't _believe _this crap…" Ino mumbled under her breath, however knowing that she would probably be at the Academy if she didn't solve her attitude, she instantly dropped the subject under Tsunade's intense gaze.

Clearing her throat, Tsunade gave Ino a disapproving glare which in the end made Ino stare directly at the floor in shame, shock and complete rage and for this reason only was the reason that made Tsunade wait a few moments for this phase to pass from Ino's mind.

"Yes, whatever crap. It happens." Tsunade rubbed her hands together before placing her two index fingers on the tip of her nose. "Anyway, before I'm interrupted again. Basically, Sakura has been having reoccurring dreams of Sasuke - not wet dreams I assure you -" Tsunade quickly cut off at seeing Ino's sudden fit of rage that was making her eyes darken. "These dreams are making Sakura very ill, along with making her see things that might or might not happen, slowly driving Sakura to insanity…"

"WHAT? So all of this? Going out on late missions? Speaking to herself sometimes? ALL of this is because of that little dick?" Ino stammered, teeth grinding together to express her fury at how someone as low as shit could actually manage to do this to Sakura.

Not being able to help it, Ino jumped up. Fists at the ready, with kunai gripped tightly in one of them while her mind was battling her common sense which was obviously telling her to calm down. Problem was, she didn't fucking feel like calming down!

"I'll fucking kill that little shit by myself if he hurts her!" Ino found herself yelling, turning her back on Tsunade to make a run for the city of Lightning where she could go to a Trade post where all the old codgers would meet up and discuss the 'dark' ninja's they've seen around lately. "I can't believe it! I can't fucking believe this shit!"

"Ino Yamanaka! I haven't even finished yet!" Tsunade shouted and from the loud bang, Ino could tell that the Hokage had slammed her fist down against her desk again.

"Who gives a damn old woman? Tell Sakura I'll be back in a few weeks with Sasuke's head as my new fucking hat!" Ino hissed over her shoulder, the fury that was bubbling at the bottom of her stomach rising quicker than a volcano. "Then again, he'd probably get my hair all bloody, the little-"

"Sakura might die you stupid fool because of something that Sasuke and Orochimaru managed to imprint on her and all you care about is your hair?!" Tsunade screeched, her eyes tight.

Ino felt like she was drifting. Like the whole world was drifting. Sasuke. Orochimaru. Tsunade…Sakura. Those words rang through her ears and spread across her body's senses like wildfire, making Ino's throat burn whilst her tears that had been gently welling up suddenly dry out at such heat.

"S-Sakura m-might d-die?!" Ino spluttered, looking over her shoulder to see how serious Tsunade's amber eyes were and with that look Ino could tell that what they were talking about was absolutely fatal. "B-but how? Why?!"

"Ino…Calm down please." Tsunade whispered, shaking her head as she once again sat down. "Because of these dreams Sakura has managed to get the curse mark that made Sasuke hunger for power and because of this we need someone to help her. Guide her. That is why I am explaining the _full_ details to you, and you only. Not to Naruto. Not to anyone. Apart from you."

Throat dry, Ino tried her damn hardest to swallow as jealousy clouded her mind from the truth that was obviously being shoved right in her arrogant and not to mention superior face.

"Why didn't you ask Temari to do the job?" Ino murmured darkly, turning her face away from her Hokage. "Temari could make Sakura laugh. Could make Sakura be anything. Do anything. Temari could be Sakura's goddess. Why not asking Temari? Huh?"

"I don't do sympathy very well Ino." Tsunade muttered morosely, her nose scrunched up in what Ino believed to be disgust mixed with a slight bit of unnerving understanding. "I didn't choose Temari because Sakura doesn't love Temari as much as she loves you, in fact, she doesn't love anyone more than you. So I suggest you stop with all this sympathy act and get your lazy arse into gear and go take Sakura home." Ino was startled to see that Tsunade ended this sentence with a supportive grin.

Feeling well put in her place, Ino stumbled up, murmuring a quick 'see ya' before rushing out of the Hokage's office like her life depended on it.

- -

"So, how'd it go?" Sakura grinned whilst falling against their apartment's leather couch and Ino instantly knew that Sakura had fully well known that she, Ino was going to be told off just for being herself.

"Terrible. I'd take Orochimaru, Akatsuki, Gai-sensei and Lee's ramblings any day over your so called mother's ranting." Ino groaned, falling back beside Sakura with a soft _thumph!_

"Oh you poor baby." Sakura smirked teasingly, pressing her forehead against her lover's shoulder and kissing it gently before pulling back with an even bigger smirk than before. "She's not that bad y'know, don't you think you're being a little harsh than usual?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "No." However her expression quickly changed into one of surprise. "Hey! I'm not harsh!"

"You kinda are." Sakura said, emphasising her thought by a single nod with an amused arched eyebrow.

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"You're also very immature." Sakura laughed, pressing her chin against Ino's shoulder so that she could kiss Ino's cheek lovingly.

"So? I'm only twenty-four." Ino smirked cheekily, eyes alight with mischief as she let her both of her hands wrap around Sakura's slim waist.

"Oh good lord. So am I, you idiot." Sakura glanced down at the hands that was now around her waist. "And are you requesting something?"

Ino turned her head to her left, brushing her lips against Sakura's earlobe which in the end just made the pinkette shudder. "Maybe, why don't you come and find out? Chicken?"

Sakura almost immediately threw herself over Ino, her hands pressing down roughly on Ino's shoulders and her lips centimetres from Ino's lips which in turn made the blonde blush crimson.

"As you were saying…" Sakura purred, daringly letting her teeth pull on Ino's bottom lip.

"You fucking suck Saku." Ino whined, pouting her lower lip. "Stop being so dominant, I thought that was my job when it came to sex."

"Ino! I don't want sex." Sakura replied indignantly, her hand flying up so that it was now covering that curse mark on her neck.

Ino also reached up (mainly in panic) to place her hand over Sakura's, squeezing Sakura's fingers gently and stopped this treatment instantly when Sakura hissed in pain.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" Ino barely whispered, her voice getting higher with the fear that creeping up her spine. "Is it the curse mark? Sakura what do you need?!"

Sakura growled, her fist tightening around her own neck which in turn just made her forehead drop down on Ino's owns gently.

"I need you to shut the fuck up a little, you panicking is making my head throb with guilt." Sakura spoke through gritted teeth, an animalistic snarl coming from her throat.

Part of Ino wanted to hiss back angrily - stubbornly - that Sakura deserved the guilt after everything she had put her through, however another part of her overruled that thought and Ino found herself wrapping her arms around Sakura's neck before pulling her up so that she was now wrapped securely in her arms in a bridal position.

"Where the hell are you taking me?!" Sakura demanded, struggling in Ino's arms as she tried to get away.

"Stop struggling! You're heavy!" Ino complained, ignoring Sakura's question and running straight into their bedroom before closing the door behind her with just a kick of her foot.

"Are you once again saying I'm fat?" Sakura shrieked, her eyes wide when she was flung down onto the bed and her emerald eyes got even wider when Ino then crawled on top of her.

"Let me look at your neck!" Ino growled, removing Sakura's shakings hands so that she could peer more closely at the pale skin. "And for Kami's sake stop squirming! I'm trying to help you!"

Ino lets out a sigh of relief when she feels Sakura's body relax underneath her, the pinkette's breathing now steadying so that Ino can feel the heat of the girl's breath on the nape of her neck.

"Sorry, I just keep thinking about…Y'know." Sakura sighed, wrapping her arms securely around Ino's waist as the blonde continued to check at her neck.

"Yeah I know…" Suddenly Ino pressed her nose against Sakura's neck, making the pinkette jump and gasp in surprise. "Still hurting baby?"

"N-no." Sakura managed to stammer, her whole face crimson and her body trembling lightly underneath Ino's firm muscles. "Just feeling incredibly horny. You're a sly bitch."

"I find it incredibly amusing that you know you aren't going to get any sex." Ino chuckled darkly back, her tongue peeping out of her mouth to lick at Sakura's neck. "That and I'm going to have to tell you a joke that will preoccupy you for a few moments."

"You are pushing your luck Yamanaka!" Sakura warned with a growl which quickly turned into a purr when Ino kissed her nose to silence her. "You are lucky that Kakashi-sensei sealed this thing or I would have-"

"The only reason Sasuke teme put this on you was because he's too fucking lazy to come here so I won't pull his dick off and feed it to the ducks." Ino giggled, now kissing Sakura's jaw. "You are certainly one to talk, you being underneath me that is. What are you actually going to do to me? Buck me to death?"

Sakura snorted. "Once I'm free, I'm going to do so much kinky sex with you that you'll be begging me for more! And guess what Yamanka? You aren't getting shit after it!"

Ino arched a questioning eyebrow, her canines resting over her teeth lightly as she tried her best to drag her own lips backwards in way to try and…What? Seduce Sakura?

"I doubt that. The only one who'll be begging is you." Ino laughed merrily, rolling off the pink-haired ANBU so that she was on her side of their bed.

Sakura immediately sprung, straddling Ino (more like capturing, but still) with eyes alight with animalistic lust and hunger that made Ino shudder at such a look that was coming from Sakura's emerald eyes.

"I'm going to make you moan like crazy Yamanaka, so you better be prepared when I start to make you scream." Sakura nipped at Ino's collarbone gently. "Not too loud though, might wake the neighbours."

"Fuck you." Ino snarled, leaning her head forward a little so that she nibble on Sakura's lower lip.

"On the contrary dear, I'm going to fuck you." Sakura chuckled throatily, her tongue slowly starting to lick hot flames up Ino's neck.

"What time is it first?" Ino whined, scrunching her face up whilst looking at the ceiling…Anything to clear Sakura's ministrations from her mind so that she wouldn't give into Sakura once again.

"Ugh, who gives a fuck? I'm tired and horny." Sakura paused for a moment, her tongue still tasting Ino's neck. "Do you think Sasuke felt like this after he got his curse mark?"

"I hope he got more pain than this, he deserved it." Ino replied back with a sadistic chuckle.

"He's going to get even more fucking pain once I find him. I'm not lying Sakura I'm going to kill him." Ino swore her oath, letting her free hand caress Sakura's silky smooth skin soothingly.

Sakura blushed a fresh shade of crimson and for once the pinkette wasn't giggling when Ino just gave her a surprised look.

"You are so overprotective…" Sakura mumbled, shooting Ino a demure grin which in turn just made the blonde shake her head.

"No I'm not! I'm just…Uh? I dunno. But I'm not overprotective!" Ino huffed, falling back into the pillows behind of her.

"I was gonna say that is so incredibly sexy of you but I won't now." Sakura smirked evilly, pushing herself off Ino so that she could now just snuggle into the blonde's warmth. "Cuz, I'm evil like that."

Ino rolled her eyes, letting her right hand slowly creep up the nape of Sakura's neck so that her fingers could get lost in the pink tresses. "For an ANBU you are acting like a bloody Genin."

Sakura bobbed her tongue out immediately at the blonde Jounin. "Takes one to know one Ino."

Sighing, Ino pinched the bridge of her nose with her left hand before shutting her eyes tightly. "Okay, I walked into that one."

Giggling, Sakura snuggled more into Ino. Even pulling on Ino's Jounin vest so that she could rest her head on Ino's chest and even if she was touching one of the most intimate parts of Ino (not that Ino cared or minded) Sakura couldn't help but wrap one of her arms around Ino's waist to pull the blonde closer into her.

"I just remembered that I was horny." Sakura broke the peaceful silence that had enveloped them for a few moments, her little laugh making Ino grin in return of the euphoria that travelled up her own body at her Saku's laughter.

"Go to sleep Sakura." Ino prodded lightly, now using both of her hands to rub at Sakura's hips peacefully so that it would at least keep Sakura distracted on that motion so it would send her into a deep slumber.

"I wanna talk to youuuuu." Sakura moaned, yawning a massive yawn before nuzzling her nose into Ino's stomach. "I'm not even sleepy…"

"Oh yeah, and I really believe that. Saku darling have a little advice off me, yawning isn't doing you any favours." Ino chuckled teasingly, feeling her own eyes close a little at how dark the sky was becoming.

"Oh f-fuck youuu." Sakura began to gurgle and Ino found herself loving the woman that was lying across her even more at how much she really did know about Sakura when it came to her sleeping habits.

Ino waited for Sakura's breathing to even, she waited for Sakura's light snores to fill her ears and when they did come…It was a blessing. She loved Sakura dearly, but to put on a mask of happiness when really worry was spurting out of her everywhere was truly exhausting for the body and the soul.

Closing her eyes fully, Ino dragged her nails through Sakura's scalp lightly as she tried - tried being the correct word - to go to sleep so that she wouldn't have to worry so much about falling asleep in another Jounin meeting before she would have to meet her new 'team'.

"Great joy. A team that will most likely be filled with hormonal brats that will give me a headache of the century." Ino groaned, massaging her temples with her left thumb. "I can't wait for this one."

Sakura's light snores answered her and Ino couldn't help but feel the affection for this woman rush through her body like an electric shock.

"Stop being so cute…" Ino pouted, running her hands around Sakura's neck gently so not to wake her. "I hate it when you're cute, it gets to me. Every time."

Yes she was totally talking to herself, but she didn't care. She was talking about Sakura, there was a very big difference and for someone not to know that told Ino how stupid they must be.

"Okay, okay. I am going to sleep. Night, night Sakura." Leaning forward ever so slightly, Ino placed a chaste kiss on the top of Sakura's head before crashing back into the warmth of her's and Saku's pillows.

Shooting a loving smile at the pink lump that was now resting on her lower stomach, Ino couldn't help but let her hands become entangled with Sakura's own before closing her eyes once more.

"Oh and…If you don't know already. I love you. So much. You big fucking doofus." Ino mumbled adoringly.

Sakura's muttering answered her.

_Yes so I fucking suck. Gimme a break! I'm fourteen and my exams call. Wtf, why do I have exams at fourteen anyway? STUPID SCHOOL. I__t'll get better. More action. I PROMISE. JUST GIMMIE TIME._


	6. Forever

_A/N: Okay…Leave me alone. -.- I've tried my hardest with this update okay? Gimme a break. On a lighter note…I think my muse is coming back. _

**Chapter 6**

**Forever**

Sakura awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs along with a rather peculiar smell of Beef Ramen.

She also awoke to an empty cold space in her bed, and for that reason was the reason she gazed angrily up at the ceiling with her brow furrowed.

"Ino!" Sakura yelled, crossing her arms against her chest and letting out a huff of frustration. "Where the hell are you?!"

An amused chuckle answered the pinkette, followed by the whooshing noise a kettle made when boiled.

"I'm in the kitchen making you breakfast because you're a lazy arse." Ino called back to Sakura, her words making the ANBU sit up straight in their bed with her lower lip hung in a pout. "That and I dunno, I feel like being nice to you today."

"Well I don't want breakfast!" Sakura found herself shouting back at the blonde, her eyes narrowed at the closed door that was separating herself between Ino and herself. "I want you to come back to bed actually! Now get your ass in here right now!"

"No way! I made you breakfast and you're going to get your lazy ass here to eat it!" Sakura heard Ino retort back, followed by the scraping of plates being placed onto a table. "Don't make me come and drag you here Saku! No sex for a whole year!" Ino continued to warn lightly.

Sakura merely rolled her eyes before swinging her legs out of bed with a indignant huff. "Fine! I'm coming, just let me get dressed!"

Sakura groaned as she felt onto both of her knees to search for the clothes that she had torn off last night in a desperate attempt to get cool, her whole body was aching and because of that she knew she had nobody to blame but herself for having such erotic dreams in the first place.

Finally managing to find her pink top, Sakura shoved it on hastily - not bothering to see if all the buttons were buttoned up right so that no stupid idiot could try to get a peek of her breasts - whilst also burrowing in her drawers for some new lingerie that she had recently brought after she had gotten back from her last mission.

"Ughh…Did Sasuke have dreams like this too when he had the Curse Mark for the first time?" Sakura silently questioned herself, moaning when she accidentally hit the top of her head at one of the edges of the bed.

"Fuck it. I may be only in a top and lingerie, but at the moment I could hardly give a damn." Sakura hissed, rubbing her forehead roughly as she used the side of the bed to pull herself up.

Sakura almost flinched when she saw her reflection in the mirror that was resting just above her drawers, her whole body trembling slightly at the sigh of her own reflection.

"T-the hell? It's gotten bigger?" Sakura whispered, letting her nails scrape against the delicate skin that was covered in the ink of the Curse Mark that had been imprinted on her. "Did that happen overnight?"

Sakura very nearly jumped out of her skin when the peculiar ink of the mark started to expand even more around her neck, the ink even starting to creep down her collarbone to reach her breasts.

Eyes widening and panic flooding through her like adrenaline, Sakura quickly grabbed most of her ANBU gear before proceeding to push her's and Ino's bedroom door open so that she revealed a still cooking Ino with surprisingly someone she wasn't expecting…

"N-Naruto?! Why the hell are you here?!" Sakura quickly covered up her neck with both of her hands, ignoring the look of worry that flashed across Ino's eyes for a moment. "I thought you were coming out next week?"

Naruto didn't even bother to turn to face her, he was still too busy chomping on his Beef Ramen. "Nah, came out early as I always do. Besides, Ino told me I had to look after you today seeming as she's got this Jounin meeting she's got to go to." He finished this with a shrug of his shoulders, continuing to devour his ramen.

At hearing this, Sakura quickly sent a glare over Naruto's shoulder at said smirking Jounin that was sitting opposite to Naruto at the kitchen table of their apartment.

"Oh Ino did? Well, you won't mind if me and Ino just have a little chat about that arrangement will you Naruto?" Sakura restrained herself from bursting out into giggles when Ino's face quickly turned sour and her cocky smirk instantly left her face.

"Well actually I was just going to-" Ino started but cut herself off at the scowl that Sakura found to be plastered on her face. "Okay Saku..."

Sakura kept both of her hands firm on her neck as she walked back into their bedroom, her thoughts racing so fast through her head that if she was honest then she would most likely admit that she desperately needed those pills Tsunade took every morning after a hangover just to calm her mind down a little.

Groaning at the pain that suddenly triggered in her head, the pinkette let herself sit at the edge of their bed with a sigh escaping her already parted lips. Today would be hard, she just knew it. Everything about today screamed difficult and because of that Sakura wanted nothing more to do but run away from work - she wasn't supposed to be attending work but that didn't mean she wouldn't stop going anyway.

A door closed softly, the little creak and thud of the wood signalling that Ino had finally managed to drag herself into the room.

"Saku hun? What's wrong? Are you feeling ill?" Sakura spread her fingers open to see that Ino was looking down at her with anxiousness in her cobalt orbs.

Ino suddenly kneeled down, shuffling across the carpet floor until Sakura was face-to-face with the worried blonde that was now trying to pry her hands away from her face.

"Baby? Ugh, talk to me Sakura! What the hell is wrong?" Sakura bit her tongue hard to stop herself from yelling at the pain that just struck her whole body, her light tremors answering Ino in their own way.

"Sakura?" Ino's delicate fingertips traced the pinkette's jaw, making Sakura shudder at the touch. "Baby? Come on, Sakura! Talk to me."

Sakura whimpered at the panic that was so obvious in Ino's tone, glad that she was sitting down so that her legs couldn't collapse underneath her and she'd end up face first on the cold wooden floor.

"I-I…" Sakura stammered, her forehead - that was now plastered in sweat - slowly slunk forward so that the pinkette was now resting against Ino's neck so that she wouldn't fall. "Ino it hurts so bad…"

Sakura felt another stab of guilt pierce through her heart when she noticed how stiff Ino had gotten against her body.

"Shit! Sakura let me look at the Curse Mark." Ino demanded, letting her gentle fingertips coax Sakura's hands away from her scarred neck and before Sakura could do anything she felt Ino's cool hands on her collarbone.

"Fuckity fuck Saku!" Sakura heard the blonde gasp, her cold hands holding onto her neck like a life line. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that it was growing?"

"Probably because it only just happened you shithead!" Sakura growled throatily at the blonde, her eyes narrowing at how bloody thick Ino could be sometimes when it came to these sort of situations.

"Oh Saku…" Ino's voice seemed to be full of sadness and Sakura couldn't help but feel her heart clench painfully at the broken voice that was Ino's. "I knew they shouldn't have let you out of that damn hospital. Come on baby, get dressed and I'll take you there."

Sakura shook her head forcefully. "Ugh, I'm fine okay. You've gotta go to that Jounin meeting soon and I don't want you to miss it just in case you miss anything-"

Sakura found herself being cut off by two lips being pressed against her own for a moment.

"Don't be a fucktard. I don't mind missing a Jounin meeting if it means you're going to be safe." Ino mumbled huskily against Sakura's lips, unknowingly making the pinkette shiver in anticipation. "Besides, I might have my dirty way with you if I'm lucky."

Sakura let a wry grin spread across her pained features, only managing to suppress the pain by biting her tongue.

"Maybe, but only if you go to that Jounin meeting." Sakura chuckled when she felt Ino's lips part to protest against her own. "Honestly, I'm fine now. It just stings a little y'know?"

Ino rolled her eyes in reply. "Sure, whatever. Get dressed right now." The blonde Jounin smirked at the look of childish frustration that swept over the pinkette's features. It was so…Electrifying to be able to frustrate Sakura like this. Mentally and Physically.

"I'm fine Ino! Get to that Jounin meeting before I kick you -" Sakura whimpered against Ino's lips, mainly because of the probing hands that was starting to slide the zipper down on her red jacket top so that soft delicate fingertips could brush up against hard nipples. "I-Ino?! Are you _crazy_? Naruto's just behind our bedroom door in the damn kit-!"

Sakura lightly whimpered against the pressure of Ino's thigh that was being pressed down hard into her aching core - she was mainly aching thanks to Ino's subtle yet fiery ministrations that she had done on her - before closing her eyes slightly and thrusting her hips forward for the friction she so desperately needed.

A dark chuckle so close to her ear made Sakura shudder all over, her eyes closed tightly so that she wouldn't have to look at how fucking sexy Ino looked which was absolutely fine with her. If Ino looked good, she would most likely make Ino miss her Jounin meeting because she would be far too busy making love to the blonde woman.

"Naruto won't walk in here when he knows it's a private matter." Ino breathed huskily into the ANBU's ear. "Besides, it doesn't really matter if I just miss _one_ more Jounin meeting. Especially if all I'm doing is expressing myself." Ino finished with a smirk against the lobe of Sakura's ear, loving the way she could easily dominate the pinkette.

Sakura really, really wanted to argue with the blonde woman. She honestly did, but how the hell could she when at the moment she was feeling incredibly horny when she was supposed to be in pain.

"Ooh, you aren't trying to stop me. Am I really that ho- woah Saku!" Ino yelped as she was pulled down on top of the ANBU, her eyes wide when she noticed the animalistic lust that had managed to make Sakura's emerald orbs have a glazed look.

Sakura tilted her head up so that she could catch the blonde beauty that was lying on top of her in a heated kiss, both of her hands coming up to stroke away lingering strands of Ino's hair so that the ANBU could push these strands behind the lustful Jounin's ears.

Sakura then used both of her arms to wrap around Ino's neck, moving her lips away from Ino's for a moment before returning to them a second later with little nips and sucks which did nothing but make Ino gasp and whimper into the pinkette's skilled mouth.

Ino smirked wryly when she felt a hand slip down her Jounin pants to rub appreciatively at the inside of her thighs, making the blonde do nothing but proceed to suck and nip at Sakura's neck to muffle the moans that was sprouting from her mouth.

However, before it could even go any further than both of them would have liked it to - Ino had planned to send Naruto away so that she could have Sakura to herself for a day but…Duty called as it always does - there was a knock at their bedroom door and Ino had to bite Sakura's shoulder to stop herself from groaning too loudly.

"_Ino_ you idiot. That friggen hurt y'know?" Sakura growled underneath her breath, nuzzling the crook of Ino's neck anyway.

"My bad Saku." Ino apologized with a smirk that obviously meant the opposite of what she said. "Ugh. Naruto sure has great timing huh?"

Sakura rolled her eyes in response, leaning up a little so that she could just lick under Ino's chin in a playful manner.

"Ew Saku, do I have to learn you how to be respectful all over again?" Ino teased, tilting her head down so that her icy cobalt eyes were still locked on Sakura's emerald ones.

Sakura grinned - despite the fact that she would have to be left alone with Naruto all day - and immediately licked Ino again however this time on her cheek. "Ruff."

"So immature my Saku." Ino growled mischievously, caressing Sakura's cheeks with both of her hands. "But that is one of your sexiest qualities so I'm not going to complain."

Sakura was about to answer with another teasing quip that could show Ino her best quality when a cough of impatience sounded on the other side of the door.

"Uhh…Ino? When are you going dattebayo?! I need to train as soon as possible so hurry up please!" Naruto's voice called through to them urgently, making Sakura feel a little bit surprised at how eager Naruto was to train so early in the month when he was supposed to be resting.

Ino giggled roguishly in reply, kissing Sakura roughly on the lips once more before jumping off the pinkette with a twirl and a low whistle.

"I'll see you later then Saku." Ino promised with a wink at the ANBU before looking once more at the door, hesitating before Sakura groaned at the extra weight that had been put on her once more.

"Aren't you supposed to be g-mmph!" Sakura closed her eyes when she felt Ino's tongue forcefully make her lips part open, her whole body shuddering and jolting at the delicious sensations that was making her body ache with need.

Then suddenly, the lovely muscle that she enjoyed having in her mouth left as fast as it had came and Sakura was once more left aggravated at how good Ino tasted and how fucking impish she was because she knew she had that damn power over her!

Sakura mock glared when Ino smirked down at her, her digits pressing and prodding at Sakura's muscular (yet famine) build that to Ino made the pinkette absolutely irresistible - especially when the blonde had to run her tongue all over those rock hard muscles…Not that she fantasized about them or anything.

"You. Are. Such. A. Shit. Head." Sakura murmured playfully, smiling intently when Ino kissed her hard on the forehead before actually bouncing off for real this time.

"Nah, just love girls like you." Ino responded, smacking her own butt lightly before bending down so that she could get her hair band that must have accidentally came out when she had been in a very compromising position with her one and only.

"I feel hurt because of that now. I expect sex when you come back." Sakura called out to the blonde who was now heading towards the door with her unconscious little sexy sashay.

Sakura could practically feel the smugness that was wafting off Ino, her eyes narrowed in suspicion when Ino turned around to give another sly wink in her direction.

"Nuh uh Saku. You've got to be a good girl to get sex. That and Tsunade-sama said you've got to get your strength back." Ino grinned haughtily at the pinkette, revelling in the shock that crossed Sakura's face.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me. No sex?" Sakura faked moaned, hitting herself repeatedly over the head with her right hand. "The fuck? I thought you was going to do me anyway? No sex at all?"

"Not from me anyway, Tsunade-sama said that she'll break my neck if I do anything to harm you during sex." Ino shrugged half-heartedly. "You should have heard her when she said she'd break my legs, neck and back if I ever tried to get you pregnant."

Sakura arched an eyebrow in confusion. "Say what? How in god's name is that even possible?"

Ino shrugged in reply. "Exactly what I was thinking. Your so-called mother has some weird ass ways of thinking."

"Would you quit calling her my mother?!" Sakura snapped at the blonde, her sudden mood being that of anger startling the blonde Jounin into silence. "Christ Ino! Can't you just drop the damn subject?!"

Ino blinked hard for a moment, studying Sakura's Curse Mark closely to see if there was any change however when she was going to peer more thoroughly Ino was stopped when Sakura covered her neck with both of her hands once more.

"U-ugh! Sorry…I don't even know where that anger came from! S-Sorry!" Sakura apologized and Ino was even more distressed to see that Sakura looked absolutely terrified.

But of what?

"S-Saku?" Ino began to step forward once again, her arms already open in an attempt to comfort the shaking pinkette.

"It's okay!" Sakura whispered shakily, her hands now sliding down her collarbone and breasts until they reached her stomach. "I'm f-fine. Just get to your Jounin meeting okay?"

Now Ino was the one torn. The Jounin meeting - which Sakura requested that she should go to - or Sakura's welfare? Well, that one was friggen obvious but Sakura desperately wanted Ino to go to that damn Jounin meeting and Ino hated to displease her Saku…

"Ugh. Fine. But listen to me. If you need me then phone! And if you're feeling a bit ill we've got some pills in the cupboard and if you need anything else just go to the damn hospital and if you -" Ino started, her concern overtaking her senses for a moment.

"Ino! I am a medic ninja y'know!?" The pinkette yelled, half angry yet half amused by the blonde's antics.

"Oh yeah, my bad Saku." Ino said with a sheepish grin and a scratch of the nape of her neck. "Well see you later Saku. I'll be sure to check with Tsunade if I can give you some loving tonight kay?"

Sakura blushed a pretty shade of magenta. "I'm always up for that, it's not like you need to have permission to make love to me."

Ino chuckled in response. "Yeah well, I don't want my precious Saku getting hurt if I'm rough with her now do I?"

"Rough? Pft. Like that'd ever happen." Sakura snorted, rolling her eyes a little at Ino's reply. "Besides, you should be more worried of ME being rough."

Smirking in response, Ino quickly opened the door to reveal a annoyed-looking Naruto who by the looks of it wasn't impressed by how long he probably had to wait. Sakura didn't exactly know how long, she'd been pretty preoccupied.

"Dattebayo Ino! Aren't you ready to go yet?! Come ooon! The longer you're here then the shorter I have to train! Come on already please! ~" Naruto was practically bouncing on his toes, his eyes urgent and alert as if everything around him was some sort of enemy.

Ino whacked the blonde idiot over the head in response. "Baka! I'm going already! Now keep her safe and make sure you _get _what she wants! If she's feeling ill then just come and get me quick or even better, take her to the hospital." Ino spoke quickly in a way that made Sakura think that Ino was trying to send a coded message to the knucklehead ninja in _blonde_ language.

"I am still here y'know?!" Sakura found herself growling, eyebrows furrowed in aggravation at how now they seemed to be both ignoring her, even when she had pointed out her very own existence.

"Eh? But what if I need to go to the toilet? What do I do-" Naruto started but was cut short by another slap that was making the back of his head throb.

"Baka!! I wasn't even finished!" Ino replied with a frustrated tone. "Anyway! Don't even think about taking her to Ichiraku for some damn ramen either, if Sakura wants food. YOU cook it."

Sakura gasped instantaneously. "Ino! That's cruel! Naruto can't cook for the life of him! I can't believe you've left me in the hands of him!"

Naruto gave her the wounded puppy eyes in response, little wisps of blonde hair covering his cerulean eyes which only added more to the affect of his puppy eyes.

Ino snorted with a wicked smile on her features. "Now, now Saku. Don't be so doubtful. Naruto will look after you." The Jounin nudged him hard in his ribs, making him double over. "Won't you Naruto?!"

"U-ugh! Yeah! Course I will!" Naruto stuttered, giving both of them a uneasy smile that seemed to be full of tension.

"Good. I'll be back in an hour and a half at the most. Ciao!" Ino waved happily at them both, pushing past the Kyuubi carrier and out the door of her's and Sakura's apartment.

Sakura sighed, glad that at least Ino had made her breakfast.

**- -**

Tsunade tapped her fingers together quietly, her head swarming with ideas and worries about Sakura's health.

One thing was for certain, Sasuke was still alive. And because of this reason was why Tsunade was now not drinking her life away, and to say she wasn't even tempted to start drinking was very worrying indeed.

If Sasuke was alive then what had happened to Orochimaru? Sure he was the least of their worries right now but still, what had happened to the Snake Sannin? Was he still alive?

"Tsunade-sama? Yamanaka Ino is here to see you." Tsunade heard Shizune whisper through the wooden doors, only really listening to the words after she had finally pulled herself around so that she could actually think.

"Ugh. Blondie?" Tsunade groaned, holding her head in her hands at the thought of having to talk to her student's girlfriend. Couldn't it wait until she had FINISHED thinking?

"Uh huh! Open up you old bag! I need to plan something important with you!" Ino's yell of happiness very nearly made Tsunade lost her control and break something but of course…Not even Naruto could lose control with a cup of sake right by your side where it was needed most.

Gulping it down in one quick motion with her hand, Tsunade shook her head to the side once before letting her amber eyes stare uncertainly at the door in front of her. It was quite unnerving how intimidating the door actually looked to the Hokage, so intimidating that many would question her sanity.

"Come in then you spoiled little brat." Tsunade snarled, letting both of her hands wander around her drawers for another bottle of sake.

Tsunade didn't even bother to look up as Ino walked into the room - which to the blonde Jounin was quite rude - and the Hokage almost regretted her actions when she felt a figure towering over her.

"Hey you old hag! I need your help with something. Something really important!" Tsunade looked up at a grinning Ino, a unsatisfied grimace on her flawless features.

"Great Yamanaka, going to tell me what you need help with or do I have to beat the shit out of you?" Tsunade yawned her disapproval, her amber eyes narrowed into deadly slits of impatience.

"Hmph!" Ino crossed her arms and glowered down at the Hokage. "Some motherly figure you are! It's about Sakura!"

Tsunade's expression didn't even begin to change, instead it just remained the same old boring expression of dissatisfaction and annoyance.

"And?"

Ino almost growled at how there was hardly any void of emotion on her Hokage's face, surely Tsunade would have at least looked a bit interested if she'd known that it was something about Sakura.

Deciding to ignore the Hokage's stupidness, Ino continued on what she was about to ask.

"Well, y'know that next week is mine and Saku's first anniversary of us going out and I was wondering if -"

"No." Tsunade stopped Ino's attempts immediately, finally managing to get a hand on some sake before lifting the bottle to her lips - letting the fiery liquid burn its way down her throat.

"W-what?!" Ino spluttered, the bubbling irritation in her stomach starting to crave it's way up her own throat. "You didn't even know what I was going to say! You just can't say no!"

Tsunade merely chuckled as the bottle left her now wet lips. "I just did. I said no because I won't let you host a party because it's not me you should be asking and you know that very well."

Ino sighed, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so. "Oh come on Tsunade, can't you just ask her for me? You know how much she hates me and how much I hate her. C'mon! Be a pal for once!"

Tsunade eyes flickered over to the files in front of her for a moment, her fingers clenching together around the sake bottle as she did so.

"No, brat. You're going to have to ask her yourself." Tsunade lifted her hand up to crush the attempts of Ino trying to talk her around. "Besides, I'm busy right now and I don't want you distu-"

Ino was practically looking at the files along with her and for that reason Tsunade was now trying not to throw her god damn chair at the spoiled Jounin.

"Oh I see, you're looking for Haza-" Ino tilted her head to the left a little, her face scrunched up in a look of confusion. "Haza-what the fuck does that say? Haza-ish-otlut?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes in response, pushing the blonde Jounin back a little so that she could help the _kid_ to try and pronounce the proper name of this S-Rank criminal that she desperately needed the help of.

"He's called Hazaishot Lut. Pronounced Hazai-shot." Tsunade explained slowly as if to a one year old - which she could see was pissing Blondie off, not that she cared if it did but still. "He's an S-Rank criminal and basically a link that could give us the prayer we need to get rid of Sasuke from Sakura's mind."

Tsunade suppressed a laugh at how the blonde Jounin immediately stood straight, her eyes full of alert and a look of unnerving impatience.

"So, you're basically going to send out some Ninja to find the bastard. Great, count me in!" Ino said cheerfully, doing her own trademark little wave of her fingers that just rested below her left eye.

"Fuck off Yamanaka, you aren't going." Tsunade muttered viciously, narrowing her eyes slightly at the paper in front of her.

Ino flinched at her Hokage's words.

"W-what?! Quit doing that! Stop deciding my life already! I have my own free will as a woman!"

"Who the hell do you think you are? Carmen!?" Tsunade growled, feeling her blood pressure start to rise in her head.

"Am I supposed to know what you mean?! Go take all your old grannyness somewhere else!"

"Fuck you! I'm Hokage!" Tsunade argued back, forgetting everything that her therapist had told her about arguing with people lower to her own status.

Ino slammed her hand on the table, making the whole room clog up with awkward silence.

"Screw what you say." Ino growled lightly and Tsunade was absolutely shocked at how much Ino looked like Naruto when he was angry at people's decisions. "I'm going to find that man and there's nothing you can do about it." Ino paused for a moment.

She looked down at the sheets of paper once more. "If he's going to help us with the problem with Sasuke then I'll do everything in my power to help. Even if it only means taking my Genin team out to discover more about him." Ino spoke determinedly, a passionate smile on her weathered-looking face. "I'll do anything, just please send me on that mission."

Tsunade blinked. Truly shocked at what the blonde Jounin had just muttered to her. When had…? When had Ino Yamanaka matured?

Amber eyes flittered over silvery cobalt ones and in that instance, Tsunade knew her answer.

"No Yamanaka…" Tsunade whispered quietly, shaking her head at the sullen look that had quickly appeared on the Jounin's features. "Don't give me that look. It's for a good reason why you can't go."

Ino growled low in her throat, the rage that had slowly been bubbling at the bottom of her stomach was now starting to crave it's way up her throat so that it would make her senses explode.

"God damn it!" Ino snarled, placing both of her hands on Tsunade's desk and leaning over ever so slightly so that her breath was most likely making the Hokage's face heat up like a fan when it was hot. "Why!? Haven't I tried to prove it enough that I love Sakura?! Do you enjoy putting me down as I fight for everyone's acceptance?!"

Tsunade didn't budge. Her expression was emotionless, even when fresh tears had started to sprout and race down Ino's face…Even then, her face stayed the exact same expression. Unreadable.

"Damn it! You don't have to have people staring at you because you're so fucking hopelessly in love with someone that may kiss you, hug you and even watch stupid movies with you but never say that they love you." Ino was breathing heavily, her anger was taking it's leave to be replace with sorrow. "Don't you think I know what they say to each other? Huh?! Pathetic! Useless! Not fit to be a Jounin! Shouldn't show so much emotions-"

"You shouldn't, you're a ninja." Tsunade cut in steadily, flailing her left hand out carelessly as if this was what she had to say everyday and got extremely bored of doing so.

"I'm also a human!" Ino retorted, her eyes narrowed so dangerously that Tsunade found the Jounin's gaze piercing which did nothing but make her look down at the sheet in front of her again.

"You've got to understand Yamanaka…Missions come before everything when you're a ninja. You've already been assigned a mission and you will stick to it until the very end of it." Tsunade whispered matter-of-factly, still choosing not to look up at the Jounin's glare.

"What mission?! You haven't even assigned me one! How can I do a mission without being assigned one?" Ino snapped back, the rage still making her think and feel irrationally about everything.

"You've already forgotten?" Tsunade looked disgusted at this information. "You've already forgotten that I assigned _you_ to protect Sakura." Tsunade smirked as what she was about to say next formed in her head…Perfect opportunity.

"Maybe you was right before…" Tsunade sighed, closing her eyes and reaching for the bottle of sake in her drawers. "Maybe Temari should be looking after Sakura, she obviously cares more for Sakura than y-"

"That's not true!"

Tsunade hid a grin, opening her eyes to see that once more tears had formed in the blonde's eyes and that the ferocious look of willpower had returned.

"So prove it. If you really want to hold that party then I suggest you get down to Temari's place and sort it out. I've heard that she's at the Kazekage's apartment at the moment." Tsunade shrugged. "Make sure Gaara's okay while you're there. The Sand Village is already in tears with Baki as their leader for the moment."

Ino bit her lower lip. "So basically you're just sending me away. Not even bothering to tell me anything more about the whole situation about this guy that's going to help Sakura?"

"Obviously. You may leave now Yamanaka." Tsunade said serenely, grasping her sake and taking another sip from it whilst waving her hand in the direction of the door.

With a look of disbelief and fury, the blonde Jounin turned away from her Hokage to storm her way to her number one enemies apartment.

- -

"Hey…Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked up from her breakfast, her hand that held onto her fork - which was piled with scraps of egg and bacon combined - suddenly tightening around the piece of steel at the look of complete hesitation.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Sakura whispered, letting her mouth swallow the scraps of her breakfast as she continued to stare at the lost-looking man in front of her.

"Don't go on those missions anymore…" Naruto muttered quietly, his blonde locks - so overgrown, so rugged and so handsome all the same - getting in front of his eyes as he looked at her.

Naruto removed his curls from his cerulean eyes with a swipe of his right hand. "Please don't go on those missions anymore."

Sakura gasped lightly. Had Naruto really said that? Uzumaki Naruto? No. Impossible. Naruto never backed down on a promise, never had before…This was almost like a dream, no it had to be a dream!

"What are you saying? We've got to get Sasuke back. That's what we've been trying to do for the past ten years." Sakura chuckled nervously, not exactly liking the way Naruto's eyes seemed to darken at the mention of his former best friend and so-called brother.

"Yes, but we've only known that he chose to make his own organization with the rest of his pathetic people a few months ago. And now you're working like a mad-woman…I think it's time to decide that he's chosen his path and move on with our lives." Naruto spoke with such sincerity and unhappiness that Sakura couldn't help but feel her heart clench painfully at his words.

No, this wasn't Naruto…Of course it wasn't Naruto. Naruto _loved_ Sasuke. Almost as equally as she _loved_ Ino. Why would he so suddenly give up? They were so close and-

No. That was a lie. They hadn't been close to Sasuke for what seemed to be a good thirteen years ago.

Still, she had made a promise to him. And she would definitely not give _that _up.

When Naruto had once again failed to retrieve Sasuke about a year ago, he had been very close to dying. And that was not an exaggeration.

He was filthy, his clothes stunk of blood and burnt material and his whole face had grown rugged with so many scars that all together…Naruto hadn't been a pretty sight. No matter how handsome he had gotten.

What disturbed Sakura and the others the most was the fact that Naruto also stunk of something that he shouldn't have stunk of…

Decay. Corpse. Flesh. Oh, these were all very normal smells - for a medic ninja anyway - but what disturbed the others the most was the fact that it hadn't been on any real part of his body.

His breath stunk of it. Nobody knew why, not really. Naruto had solemnly swore that he hadn't even touched another human whilst looking for Sasuke apart from Sasuke himself.

However, Sakura knew, Naruto knew, Tsunade knew, Ino knew and fucking hell, even Kakashi knew.

It was far too late. Even now, Sakura was still frightened of him. She loved him, nobody should ever make a mistake of that but there was no point in lying and telling everyone that she wasn't damn scared of him. By Kami she was and she hated it.

She hated that the boy who had been a brother to her now made her shiver whenever he got a little bit aggressive or possessive around other people. She hated it so much.

Even then, on his hospital bed, even when many people had given him the look of hatred (people who didn't understand him or knew him) Sakura still stuck by him until he fell asleep.

Confessions were hardly the type of things that Naruto knew about or did, so when the blonde had finally whispered that he wanted nothing more but to understand Sasuke, to want him back, to want to know so much about him that others did not…That was the time that Sakura had promised to bring the Avenger back.

Nobody knew of their agreement apart from Tsunade and Kakashi-sensei (among a few others) and Sakura knew that both she and Naruto preferred it that way.

So, why was Naruto giving up now?

"I won't accept that. You love Sasuke, Naruto-" Sakura started, however was cut off when an almighty glare silenced her.

"I also love you Sakura-chan. What Sasuke has done to you…" Naruto was trembling, nevertheless, not from the cold…But from the ferocity that was making his whole stomach squirm unpleasantly. "If I ever found him, I'd beat him to a pulp and…"

Sakura shut her eyes to try and rid of the horrifying images of Naruto ripping Sasuke apart with his bare teeth.

"Does it matter what he did to me? I'm getting him back for you, even if I have to die in the process." Sakura spoke with determination, even forgetting her awful thoughts when Naruto glowered at her with fierce antagonism.

"Stop saying such fucking ridiculous things Sakura-chan! You have a reason not to die! Not me, It should just be me looking for him. Not you." Naruto snarled, his fingers gripping tightly onto the edge of the table that they were both sitting at. "You have Ino, I'm just a weapon that was born to kill or get destroyed. How dare you think that you have to do-"

Sakura couldn't help herself. She raised her hand and quickly backhanded the Kyuubi-carrier, making the blonde stagger back from his chair and onto the wooden floor of the kitchen.

Instantly, Sakura was up on her feet. "Naruto! I'm so sorry I didn't mean it!" Rushing to the blonde boy's side, Sakura scooped Naruto's arms together and placed them around her neck. "I just can't stand you talking about yourself that way…"

A low chuckle brought Sakura out of her panicky high, making the pinkette look down to see a chuckling Naruto against her shoulder.

"It's okay Sakura-chan…It didn't even hurt."

Sakura in reply nudged him, earning a wince and a little shudder from the blonde Chuunin. "So I see…"

"Sorry…I…Don't know what to do anymore." Naruto sighed, detangling himself from her arms.

"We're going to get Sasuke back. Together." Sakura replied immediately, smirking down at the Chuunin. "And even if we die. At least we die together."

Naruto let a shaky hand get tangled in his knotty blonde tresses. "What about Ino? I shouldn't be the one you're going to die with. That is…If we do die."

Sakura bit her tongue to stop herself from blurting out everything…Including her tears on what she felt about the subject of leaving Ino behind her as she had done so many times before.

"I think Ino would have wanted me to die with someone I loved like a little brother." Sakura replied back truthfully, letting herself rest against Naruto's shoulder. "Though I also know she would have wanted me to die in her arms…"

Sakura sighed, clutching onto the material of Naruto's shirt. "I just want to make you happy as well as myself and Ino."

"Ugh. Why can't Ino just come along with us Sakura-chan? I know she can't stand you going on these missions…" Naruto paused, looking down at the sister he never had. "She loves you Sakura. She wouldn't be able to cope if you died. Especially with just me there."

Sakura exhaled noisily, feeling her whole body shiver at the sudden cold that had managed to drift it's way in.

"I can imagine worse scenarios. Me dying in Temari's arms for example." Sakura smirked at the thought.

Naruto winced, stifling a laugh with a cough. "Ouch, you noticed the hostility between them too?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, nodding her head. "Duh, if looks could kill…Temari would be so dead that she would have no chance of coming back to life. Even as another person."

"It's not your fault that your hot eh Sakura-chan?" Naruto teased lightly, glad that they was steering away from the subject.

"Shut up baka!" Sakura growled, punching the blonde idiot in the arm ever so lightly - of course, she was Tsunade's student after all. Very gentle.

"Yeowch! Sakura-chan!"

Then, all of a sudden. A large yell sounded through the whole apartment.

"Stay away from me you fucking Bimbo! I don't want to bloody talk to you!"

"Oh for the love of fucking god! You haven't even heard what I wanted yet! What is with you people?!"

Sakura felt her jaw drop.

Why was Ino and Temari arguing now?!

_Filler chapters RULE. :D _


	7. The Impossible

_Yay for plot! I loves it. :D I also love my muse. And lol xD Thank you for whoever messaged me from my actual email and said that they want my babies. :P o_O You can share them with John and Chloe. =P_

**Chapter 7**

**The Impossible**

"I don't give a flying fuck what you want Bimbo, get the fuck out of my way so I can close the damn apartment door!" Temari snarled, her brow furrowed in deep fury at the infuriated blonde in front of her.

"Quit calling me a bimbo, bimbo!" Ino snapped back, ignoring Temari's request completely and in fact making her foot wedge deeper into the crack where the door and it's hinge met.

"Then fuck off my fucking doorstep, bimbo!" Temari growled, glancing down at Ino's foot with a sense of furious vehemence.

"I need to plan a party you fucking idiot!" Ino whispered hurriedly through gritted - perfect white - teeth. "Now open the fucking door and let me the fuck in."

Temari hesitated. She knew very well that if anyone wanted to organise a public party that would be hosted in one of her clubs then everybody would immediately have to go to her to book it up.

It was kind of strange really, having a club in a different village that you didn't really belong to in addition to also living in a different village where the club was hosted, when Temari wasn't around then the club would be burgled if anybody was foolish enough to do so.

'_Ugh. I hate my life.' _Temari thought to herself silently, moving away from the door whilst opening it as she did so. '_I have no romance, no good food, no reputation apart from being the Kazekage's sister…Nothing but drama. I really need to get out more. Tch. This sucks.'_

Temari was brought back to the real world with a thump when a quiet 'humph!' resounded all around her apartment.

Temari turned around, not really that surprised to see that the blonde Jounin was examining her apartment with sceptical eyes.

"Nice apartment." Ino said sullenly, refusing to let her silvery cobalt eyes connect with dreamy teal ones as she gazed around the apartment.

"You obviously don't think so." Temari responded back truthfully, even having the nerve to smirk at the look of shock that had crossed over the Jounin's face for a moment before returning to one that seemed like one of ignorance.

"I'm trying to be mature about this…Give me some credit." Ino replied, her expression now unreadable because of the hand that she had put up to scratch the skin just below her left eye.

"I don't like you enough to give you any credit." Temari almost chuckled at her owns words. "In fact, I just don't like you at all."

"Great to know we're on the same page then." Ino said sardonically, twisting her fingers through her blonde tresses.

"Isn't it just? Now aren't you going to tell me why you want to book up my club for some fucked up party or am I going to just have to guess?" Temari snapped, throwing herself down on the armchair behind her, legs and arms crossed in impatience.

"It's mine and Saku's-" Ino began, her whole face - that had brightened at the mention of Sakura - falling sullen once more at the interruption that followed.

"She's called Sakura. Can't you at least have the decency to call her by her proper name?" Temari huffed, uncrossing her legs so that her feet was just barely skimming the rough surface of the floor.

Ino narrowed her eyes dangerously at the Sand Ninja that was sitting contentedly in front of her, an arrogant smirk on her red painted lips.

"She's _my_ Sakura. I can call her whatever I damn well please." Ino snarled with an animalistic twitch of her face, showing off her white teeth in such a way that made Temari drop her smirk.

"_Your_ Sakura?" Temari said slowly, the disbelief and fury mixed into one making a very dangerous combination.

"That's right…_Mine_." Ino spoke affectionately, her eyes having a glazed look about them as her thoughts wandered off into a place in her mind where Sakura ruled her heart.

"Sakura doesn't like to be known as a possession." Temari said bluntly, the smirk now starting to form once again which made Ino shudder at how self-righteous it looked.

Ino sighed, crossing her arms across her chest whilst leaning forward so that she was staring directly into the sandy blonde's intense teal eyes. "Sakura also doesn't like it when people hit on her." An equally superior grin appeared on Ino's features for a moment at the look of complete disbelief that had swept over Temari's face. "Oh yes, don't think I've not noticed. You've been hitting on my girlfriend…"

A sadistic chuckle left Temari's parted lips. "Girlfriend? On the contrary, she doesn't even see you as anything but a very close friend."

Ino laughed bitterly in response and before Temari knew what was happening, the blonde Jounin started to unbutton her top to reveal pale white unblemished flesh.

Immediately, Temari looked down, her cheeks blazing at the look of pure beautiful flesh that seemed to be gleaming 'wanted' all over it.

"What in Kami's name are you doing?!" Temari hissed, not daring to look up at the blonde Jounin.

Ino didn't reply for a while - the zip of her pants however was enough to tell Temari that the Jounin hadn't finished though - and Temari almost looked up at the silence that suddenly followed after the zipping noise nevertheless was stopped by the one thing that she would never lose…To anyone.

Her dignity.

"Look at me." Ino commanded, her tone cold and of one that oozed the word and meaning of authority.

"Never, you fucking whore." Temari jeered, curling her lower lip up in disgust at the image of this whore trying to get into her panties.

"Believe me. I've got way more taste than to go with someone as worthless and pathetic as you." Ino started before pausing for a moment so that she could walk more towards the Sand Ninja. "Now look at me. I'll show you how close me and Saku really are…"

Without meaning to, without wanting to, without desiring to and certainly without any sense of control…

Temari let her gaze look up…And linger onto every part of Ino her eyes could capture with one look.

Well, if what the blonde Jounin was doing right now was one way to show how close she and Sakura was then…

Temari knew very matter-of-factly that she'd more than hate the other ways that she could have been shown.

Ino was not naked - '_thank god' _- in fact she was actually very well dressed compared to what she could have been in addition to knowing that, Temari knew things could have been a lot worse.

On almost every inch of skin - not including the most important bud - that covered Ino's legs there was a red line of hickeys…So many, that they actually looked like they'd been tattooed on and yet so detailed…Just looking at Ino's legs and what covered them made Temari turn around with a little 'humph!' escaping her lips - which had formed into a tight line of resentment.

"Like what you won't ever have?" Ino sneered, too smug to actually feel any sympathy for the ANBU in front of her. "Keep looking if you like, you'll only see it once…And not on yourself either."

"Shut the fuck up Yamanaka and tell me what the fuck you want." Temari snarled underneath her breath, her resolve finally snapping as she did so. "And get dressed whilst your at it." Temari turned away at this point, her eyebrows furrowed into a grimace.

"As you please." Ino chuckled darkly, staring at the Sand Ninja in front of her with childish curiosity as she quickly did up her clothes.

"I know that you want a stupid party…You wouldn't come here otherwise but what kind of party do you want?" Temari spat out her words with venom, the hatred in her tone as clear as glass. "I don't do cheap Yamanaka so be careful what you ask for."

"Oh I'm sure you don't." Ino responded back superciliously, her whole face turned up into a wicked smile of ferocity and dominance. "However the party is for Sakura so I thought that maybe you could help a _friend_ out and-"

"Are you seriously trying to make me give you a party free just by using Sakura against me? Blackmail much?" Temari growled furiously, swiping away her sandy blonde locks away with both of her hands.

"I was actually testing if you'd do anything for Saku. Even a free party. Obviously I was wrong about being competition." Ino shrugged, a malicious grin spreading on her face as she tried her hardest to look nonchalant as possible.

"You cheap fucking bimbo." Temari snarled, spitting directly on the floor next to her armchair. "You fucking cheap little bimbo."

"Eh?!" Ino said with mock shock, her lips tightened into a firm line with only a little twitch at one end of her lips.

Before Temari could say anything, Ino placed a hand on her forehead before squinting down at Temari with observing cobalt eyes.

"Neh, I'm taller actually."

A sound erupted from Temari's throat all of a sudden, sounding like a growl mixed with a grinding sound of teeth nevertheless because of this sound Ino's confidence immediately boosted up even more than it had been before. Which was saying a lot if you thought about it.

"Spit what you want fucking out Yamanaka. I don't care if I'm supposed to be civil. I will slit your throat if you don't explain what you want in the next minute." Temari threatened, glancing down at the kunai that was now in her fist of a hand - which was shaking tremendously in an attempt to contain her anger.

"Tch. Stop using such language." Ino began, but cut herself off instantly at the look of fierce predatory that swept over Temari's features.

"Anyway…I just want a party. With loads of music. Tons of it actually. The best food you can get and basically the best." Ino said with a wry grin. "See? I'm not as cheap as you think I am."

Temari snorted in reply, leaning over the arm of her chair so that she could reach the piece of parchment that was resting on the side table next to her. "So you basically want the whole fucking package?"

"Exactly what I'm saying." Ino responded straightforwardly, curling one of blonde tresses around her index finger.

"Figures, you piece of -" Temari was about to snarl however was cut off immediately by the cough that had rose from Ino's throat and through the silvery blonde's parted lips.

"What did I tell you about using such language? You act as though we're mortal enemies." Ino said with a roll of her eyes and shoulders. "Besides, I want the best for Sakura and so she should have the best party possible."

"When for?" Temari grunted out her words through gritted teeth, her eyes narrowed dangerously whilst she used her legs to wrap around each other to try and strangle the absolute vehemence out of her system.

"Next week. Thursday. That sound good for you?"

"Do I have a choice?" Temari barked, turning her nose up at the still-smirking Jounin in front of her.

"Nope, not really. Anyway, how much will it cost?" Ino continued to press, not really wanting to stay in this Sand Idiot's apartment more time than she had to.

"Way over fifty-thousand." Temari responded, cocking an inquiring eyebrow at the look of surprise that spread over Ino's features for a moment. "What's wrong? Not got enough?"

Ino blushed, completely forgetting the manipulative control she had over the Sand Ninja. "I-It's not that. I can still pay for it."

"You sure?" Temari said with a predator grin, obviously the tables had turned in her favour and Ino Yamanaka was now going to lose to her…As if she ever had a chance of winning in the first place.

Ino bit her lower lip, resisting the urge to pounce on the Sand Ninja in front of her and literally pummelling the bitch to death. It was after all, a very tempting thought that she would have no trouble doing.

"Of course I'm fucking sure." Ino hissed harshly at the Kazekage's sister, both of her hands shaking tremendously with such terrifying provocation that the blonde Jounin missed the look of fear and ambiguity that had flashed through Temari's teal eyes. "So are you going to do it or what?"

"Temari? Ino?" Another voice called from through the door…A voice that brought dread to both of the blonde's in the room.

"Sakura?!" Ino gasped, looking over her shoulder to the door that would lead out to the corridor of the other apartment doors. Oh fuck! She was so dead! How was she going to explain to Sakura that she wasn't at the Jounin meeting?! Fuck!

"Crap!" Temari whispered under her breath - unknowingly leading the blonde Jounin to look at the ANBU with puzzled eyes - her breath hitching at the knock that followed their silence.

Ino's confusion quickly double folded, her eyes widening when the ANBU jumped up and began to stash away all the files and papers that had been laid on the table before they had began arguing.

"W-what are you doing?" Ino murmured mellifluously, her brows furrowed together as she examined the way the ANBU had now started to look at her after managing to hide all the papers.

"Saving your fat ass. Now answer the door before I re-think what I just did." Before Ino could even more to open the door, Temari shuddered involuntarily. "Ugh. Can't believe I'm helping you out."

Ino paused, her eyes softening in a sympathetic gesture. "Hey, about before when I said-"

"Aren't you supposed to be doing something, bimbo?" Temari cut across with a sneer, her eyes tight in a disdainful manner.

Ino felt a lump start to form in her throat and quickly turned away whilst trying to blink back the unwanted tears that was only starting to form at how fucking horrible she had been to Temari, even if the blonde fucking idiot did deserve it for trying to hit on her girlfriend…It gave her no right to strip the Sand Idiot of her dignity.

'_Fuck it. I did what was right. The old hag was right, missions before emotions.'_ Ino thought with unwanted bitterness, her face seemed permanently on frown-mode at the sentence that was filling her head.

Either that or she felt pretty pissed off that she was actually agreeing with Tsunade on something that didn't include alcohol.

Whatever the problem was, Ino pushed it to the back of her mind as she began her unsteady pace towards the menacing-looking door - which in her mind seemed to be laughing at her because of how petrified she truly was about Sakura finding out she had no Jounin meeting in the first place.

With a final sigh, Ino opened the door to reveal a very anxious-looking Naruto and a very confused-looking Sakura who was letting her emerald orbs look at both herself and Temari with a look that told the blonde Jounin that Sakura was very suspicious on why she, Ino, of all people would be at Temari's apartment.

"Okay, so this isn't what it looks like." Ino spoke slowly, her face now contorted in a look that could only be known as fear, "isn't that right Temari?!"

"Stop being a fucking idiot Yamanaka, we we're only discussing some files that Tsunade sent me and you act like we're having a bloody affair. Chill out bitch." Temari called from her armchair, her arms and legs crossed in a defiant manner.

Ino breathed a sigh of relief, thank goodness for that. Knowing Temari as little as she did, Ino had been sure that Temari would have spilt what they had been planning - being the bitch she was - however that didn't seem to be the problem now…

"Uh. Okay? Well-Sakura-chan why the angry face?!" Naruto whispered anxiously all of a sudden, backing off away from the pinkette and to be honest, Ino couldn't blame him.

"You fucking liar Yamanaka!" Sakura yelled furiously, her fists shaking tremendously and her normal pale skin a bruised red colour. "Some Jounin meeting this turned out to be!"

Ino exhaled noisily, her eyes scrunched shut. This was why, she hadn't wanted to be caught in Temari's apartment…Especially by Sakura and Naruto.

"Okay, so I lied but honestly Saku what I'm doing in Temari's apartment is actually really im-"

"So important that you couldn't tell me?" Sakura said quietly, her arms crossed and her pink strands getting into her eyes as the ANBU tried her hardest to get back into her normal calm posture.

"Listen Saku, it's something I really don't want to tell you right now. In fact it's something you will find out, just not-"

Naruto turned away, biting his lower lip whilst shaking his head. Honestly, had his stupidity transferred into Ino over the years? Whatever the blonde was saying, it wasn't helping her in the slightest.

"Baka! What are you hiding from me?" Sakura snarled, even having the nerve to narrow her eyes slightly at the object of her another annoyance - which was over Ino's shoulder.

"Sakura, chill out already. Why would me and this slut have an affair? She's probably crap in bed anyway." Temari said with a sadistic little chuckle, mostly at the way the Jounin stiffened however partly at the way the Nine-Tailed carrier seemed to blush at her comment. "Eh? What's wrong Naruto? Haven't heard of sex before?"

"Hey! It's not that!" Naruto protested weakly, his whole face now flushing a dark crimson. "I just don't want the images, okay?!"

"Shut the fuck up! Both of you! That doesn't answer what you're hiding from me now does it Ino?" Sakura growled, baring her teeth whilst taking a step forward.

Instinctively, Ino stepped back, raising her hands in an attempt to try and at least make Sakura see that she was merely a helpless being and Sakura could totally stop being so…suspicious already! Geez! It wasn't as if she was having some secret affair with Temari now was it?

Now that she was thinking about it, wasn't Sakura being a little bit of a hypocrite? How dare she accuse her of such crap, when she herself never told Ino anything about these missions, how she felt, why she felt this way and anything that consisted of talking about things!

"What if I don't want to tell you?" Ino responded back to the ANBU with a hiss, her lower lip curled back in vengeance and her eyes narrowed so tightly that the only thing the Jounin could see was Sakura's emerald-green eyes.

At the words that had left Ino's lips, the ANBU in front of her stiffened, eyes wide and confused at what had just been uttered by her blonde girlfriend's lips.

"W-why wouldn't you want to tell me?" Sakura mumbled, more to herself than the now furious Ino in front of her - who personally looked like she was going to shoot someone if anybody gave her a gun.

"Because it's something that I want to remain a secret at the moment. Surely you must understand that, eh Saku?" Ino said coldly, her cobalt eyes lowered so that they could gaze down at something that lay in Naruto's clenched fists. So…Naruto baby-sitting Sakura and it being Naruto's idea was something to be suspicious of after all.

Ino had to suppress a sadistic smirk to appear on her face when suddenly Naruto stepped forward. Another card was added to her pile on her side of this argument, Sakura was definitely going to lose this argument against her.

"Hey Ino, c'mon now don't pull that one o-" Naruto was cut off immediately by a angry growl that erupted from the blonde Jounin's throat.

"Shut up Naruto. This doesn't fucking concern you at a-" This time, Ino cut herself off, pausing in her sentence to look at Naruto with a wild look of bewilderment.

Without a second to waste, Ino's lips immediately spread into a fierce grin of satisfaction.

"Oh…Maybe it does. It includes all of you though doesn't it?" Ino crossed her arms, glaring at everyone in the room with unforced fury. "You always going on these missions, denying everything that includes Sasuke, shooting me down whenever I try to get closer to you…This fucking sucks."

Ino glanced down at Naruto's hand again. "Let me guess, you're going training right?" Without a moment of hesitation, Ino pushed past both Naruto and Sakura, the antagonism in her stomach bubbling.

Ino's footsteps were as loud as they were when she was off in a tantrum and as usual Temari and Naruto had to try to plug their fingers in their ears to try and get rid of the sound of Ino's furious curses and loud thuds of her feet.

Nevertheless, to Sakura…It was a whole lot worse.

'_What the fuck did I just do? Was I too harsh? She did say that she'd tell me later, but why did she tell Temari and not me?'_ Sakura thought all of this with a large frown on her face, her emerald eyes staring blankly out into nothingness. '_And what was with the whole deciding to bring up the mission thing again? A secret? She was talking about those secret missions about me and Naruto bringing Sasuke back…Sigh. No wonder she was pissed.'_

With an inaudible little sigh, Sakura knitted her eyebrows together in thought and frustration. Ino was pissed at her. Ino being pissed off with her meant that she was sleeping on the couch and that she would have to make her own dinner.

That and she wouldn't get any cuddling or smooches either. And that fucking sucked, really badly.

'_It is kind of my fault…Ugh. Whatever. Thinking is making my brain hurt. I'll just have to decide how to apologize her between training with Naruto.'_ With this decided, Sakura blinked back the fiery hot tears that had started to surface in her eyes and let herself fall back into reality.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered gently in her ear, the rough shoving on her shoulder penetrating everything that had been rushing through her mind. "Sakura-chan? Are you okay?"

The ANBU stiffened at her name, turning her head slightly to stare directly into the Kyuubi-carriers cerulean eyes with a shocked expression on her features as if she had really only just heard him calling her name.

Sakura had to gulp to actually try to get some saliva, her throat was dry and parched and she feared that maybe her tears had somehow - impossibly - managed to dry her whole body up with how much emotions that had been rushing through her body's system.

"I-I think so…" Sakura glanced over her shoulder for a moment, her face softening to see that the corridor was empty and that their was no evidence that Ino would be coming down the corridor to come and see if she was alright anytime soon.

Shaking her head slightly, Sakura gave Naruto a shaky smile before saying, "let's get training then, we're going to need more rest thought okay Naruto?" A serious look overtook the ANBU's features. "I'm being absolutely humourless about this situation, the training we're doing is life-threatening and so we need to rest up a lot. Got it?"

Naruto in reply did a little exaggerated groan along with a shrug of his shoulders. "Whatever dattebayo! It's not like we're going to do THAT much training anyway." The blonde Chuunin glanced at the Sand ANBU who was watching them both with puzzled eyes. "Let's go Sakura-chan. We should leave Temari-chan to her own devices."

Sakura immediately turned to leave, honestly not even wanting to talk to the ANBU if she had to and really only wanting to talk to the ANBU as long as it was something mission-wise and the like.

"Hey! You just can't storm in my apartment, talk about some special training, only realize I'm here then leav-!"

"Yes we can." Naruto mumbled lazily, his eyes flickering over teal for a moment with an odd glint of smugness before finally the wooden door shut to close off that contact between them.

Seconds passed and Temari still sat there, watching the wooden door as if tearing her gaze away from it would cause her to lose something precious to her.

"Stupid fucking blonde bastard." The sandy blonde muttered tenderly, smiling lightly before getting up off her seat to check on the sleeping Gaara.

**- -**

Ino pulled back the curtains of her apartment window with a rough tug, her arms instantly crossing themselves over her chest as she glanced down at the Training Grounds.

"I don't care if she overexerts herself." Ino said huffily, her brows pressed together in fury at the still stinging accusation that was making her head throb unpleasantly. "I really don't care if she overexerts herself."

No, she didn't care. Sakura was so going to sleep on the couch tonight, cook her own dinner - which she should do anyway - and do EVERYTHING that Ino normally did for her. Hell yeah, that was the Blonde Jounin fighting back now!

A growl escapes her lips when the pinkette and the blonde Chuunin walk into view on the Training Grounds, however the growl is replaced with a soft - almost unbearable - gasp when the ANBU stumbles lightly against the Kyuubi-carrier in a sign of unmistakeable lack of stamina.

"I don't care." Ino reminded herself, hardening her features instantaneously at the thought of even caring about Sakura falling over. "I don't fucking care."

The blonde Jounin let out a puff of air, her eyes closing slightly at the sweltering heat that had somehow found it's way in her apartment. At these times, Ino really wished she had been bothered to buy a fan three weeks ago.

'_If it's hot here then it must be boiling outside…Sakura's outside. She'll get tired pretty quickly due the weather. By the looks of it she hasn't even packed herself anything to eat.'_

Ino exhaled heavily, turning her back on the window to walk into the kitchen before kneeling down to grab a plastic yellow box with a handle placed on the side of it.

"Fucking doofus." The Jounin murmured anxiously, her hand reaching up to swipe away the seat that was clinging to her forehead. "She makes me care on purpose. I bet she's laughing at me right now."

'_Ugh. It's like that L'oreal advert. Why do you do it Yamanaka? Because Sakura's fucking worth it. Asshole.'_ Ino thought dryly, a bitter smile pressing its way on her flawless features.

**- -**

"Okay Naruto, remember what we've practiced?" Sakura asked the blonde idiot in front of her quietly, looking over her shoulder for a moment to see if anyone was listening in before looking back at the blonde Chuunin.

"Uh huh. I'm all pumped up for it Sakura-chan!" Naruto beamed widely with his foxy grin, bouncing on his toes to get the training started.

Sakura had to suppress an excited smile of her own, even she wanted to do this training today. And she was even happier to do it with Naruto, at least then she would be able to bond with him more.

"Hand please." Sakura requested for Naruto's hand with a slight gesture of her own, a certain - yet small - smile coming onto her face.

With a wry grin, Naruto let the pinkette take his hand in her own and almost shivered at how cold the ANBU's hand was, obviously Sakura had been using her chakra to cool down her skin a little and also by the looks of it had gone a little haywire thanks to her restless emotions and worries over a certain someone.

"Okay…Naruto are you sure you remember how to do this?" Sakura pestered the Jinchuuriki gently, not wanting to upset the Chuunin anymore than she probably already had back at the apartment.

Surprisingly, this didn't seem to dampen the blonde's spirits as it normally would. In fact, it only seemed to make him more determined.

"You gotcha! Are you doing the count down now or what?!" Naruto said breathlessly, his whole face a shade brighter than it had been before they had left the apartment to train.

"Okay, okay already!" Sakura bit her lip, concentrating her chakra on the palms of her hands. "Now don't give me too much okay Naruto, just in case we overdo it and become a -"

"Yeah! I know! Now come on Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled with a mild irritation, not really shocking Sakura at how frustrated he was becoming with her. She was quite fine with it, at least she wouldn't feel so bad when she remembered all those times she had turned him down on a date when he was feeling a bit off with her.

Clearing her mind, Sakura breathed in deeply before exhaling and continuing with what she was planning in mind.

"Okay Naruto, 1...2...3!" At number three, Sakura channelled her chakra to the palm of her hand, shaping her chakra into her hand itself and waiting silently for the flow of chakra that was most likely coming any moment-

Now! There!

'_Whoa! The freaking idiot! I told him not so much! It'll unravel the bind Kakashi-sensei put on my Curse Mark!' _At this thought, Sakura instantly used her other hand to whack the Chuunin over the side of the head.

"Not too much! You're going to make me go into my Curse Mark stage and unravel the damn thing if you keep placing so much pressure on it!" Sakura hissed furiously, hinting the look of animosity that crossed Naruto's face as one of extreme annoyance and impatience.

"I'm trying my damn best here! Give me a break already!" Naruto barked, grinding his teeth together to try and get rid of the pent up aggravation that was tempting him to close his palm roughly to flatten Sakura's hand.

"Shut up and tell me how I look!" Sakura snarled, motioning to her body with her free hand. "Has my Chakra turned a different colour yet?"

Naruto glanced at the aura that was covering the outline of Sakura's body and a wide grin came to his face at the results that were hitting him blatantly in the face.

"Whoohoo! Go Sakura-chan! The chakra is turning this kind of purple colour! We did it Sakura-chan!"

The pinkette smirked haughtily to herself, very pleased that both she and Naruto had managed to get the right colour as well as the right amount for her so that they could train as equals! Well, without the Kyuubi's chakra that is.

"Okay Naruto, now that we've got that down." Sakura spoke steadily, careful not to lose concentration on the amount of chakra that was still spilling through her chakra flow. "Let's try to separate slowly, just in case we begin to let the chakra seep back through again."

"Right, dattebayo!" Naruto nodded, slowly letting his hand stretch away from Sakura's until he felt nothing but the chakra that was flowing around his body. "Yes we're managing to do it!"

Sakura in response grinned. "Yeah, we are. Let's get started."

**- -**

Dressed in a green summer's dress and a grey shawl that covered both of her shoulders - Ino had decided to go bare footed to walk to the Training Grounds and was now leaning against the trunk of a great oak tree that was shading both her and Sakura's and Naruto's lunch.

"Ugh. I feel like Sakura's mother more than her girlfriend." Ino spoke quietly to herself, cringing at the thought of even turning out like the old hag, Tsunade. "I'm even making and bringing her lunch."

With a roll of her eyes, Ino let herself slump down the trunk so that she was on her ass to continue watching the two mental insane idiots - aka Sakura and Naruto - beat the living crap out of each other.

Though, she had to admit. They were both extremely good and well-matched, Ino had been certain that Naruto had been a goner at the word go but it seemed like that they were both trying their hardest and yet at the same time they were both continuing to draw against each other.

"This is queer." Ino muttered cynically to herself, watching the idiots train with narrowed eyes. When in Kami's name were they going to stop? Hadn't they already got so hot already that they needed a god damn drink?

With a huff and a puff, Ino grabbed the elastic that was tying her sleek blonde hair up into a high pony tail and yanked it so hard that the elastic snapped and repelled off her fingers at such speed that it actually made the Jounin wince.

Her blonde silk tumbled down her face and shoulders like a veil, covering and hiding her expression from the world around her…However, this did not hide her look on the things around her, Sakura, Naruto, the strange purple chakra…They didn't see her, but she saw them clearly.

Letting both of her hands rest directly on the cold bento boxes beside, picking them up to place on her laps as she let her cold gaze stare out at the now sweating - well, that's what it looked to like to Ino - Sakura and Naruto.

She wasn't going to forgive Sakura so easily for what she had accused her of, sure she had accused Sakura of the same thing but she had a reason to seeming as Sakura was always sneaking off with the stupid sandy blonde bitch in the first place!

"Temari and me? Affair? Unbelievable! Unthinkable! That's the most horrible thing that has ever been said to me! By Saku - no Sakura! Of all people! Unforgivable!" Ino muttered frantically under her breath, her chest heaving at her angry mutters.

"And now I'm talking to myself…When I could be doing something so much better. Like. I don't know. Going on a mission. With Shika and Chouji." Pulling a kunai out of her pouch that was still strapped to her leg, Ino mindlessly pricked at her fingers with the sharp blade, suddenly fascinated by the crimson liquid that was threatening to break the flesh.

Ino wasn't the kind of person to be fascinated by this kinda stuff, she just wasn't like that and so when she had awoken from her drunken stupor of watching her fingers bleed she was immediately disgusted with herself.

"I must be really bored. Ughhh!" With a huff, Ino directly threw her kunai at the fighting pair, her brow furrowed in frustration and utter boredom.

The dynamic duo instantly broke apart and Ino almost let out a little bored sigh as she blocked their own kunai's and ninja stars.

"N-nani?! Ino?!" Naruto's high pitched voice flew through the air, the high sound making the blonde Jounin wince. "What the h-hell!? Can't you see that we're doing highly intense training and you storm in with you and your stupid moodiness and start firing-" Naruto cut himself off as the blonde Jounin let out a rather bored yawn.

"I was bored watching you two fight like ruthless animals." Ino shrugged. "Besides, I'm supposed to be looking after Sakura-chan and by the looks of it you're exhausting her to the fullest."

An angry growl answered the blonde Jounin. "I'm not exhausted! I just want to train! I don't need you butting in with everything I do!" Ino didn't even have to look up to see that Sakura was most likely giving her an evil glare.

"I don't really give a crap what you think I should or should not do. I've brought you both lunch." The blonde Jounin pointed at the bento boxes next to her. "Now sit your sorry ass down and eat. Naruto, go away. You're dismissed from looking after Sakura." Ino said all of this with a waving gesture of her hand, making her look like a teacher dismissing a rather idiotic student away.

"No he isn't! We've still got to finish our training for today and-" Sakura was beginning to protest and Ino could feel the impatience start to creep into her blood system.

Glancing up and letting her eyes focus on Sakura's defenceless hands, Ino grasped both of them in her own before yanking the pinkette towards her.

At that moment, Ino felt the wind be taken out of her. It wasn't that Sakura was heavy, it was the fact that Sakura's muscles and her own muscles weren't a very good combination at such speed.

Then fingers became matted in beautiful pink curls, tangled within the pink fortress whilst many other fingers started to roam the fortress daringly, openly and freely to try and tame the pink mane.

The blonde Jounin didn't even wince when sharp canines bit into her shoulder, in fact she just smiled devilishly up at the confused blonde Chuunin who to her looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment.

"Shouldn't you be going? Naru-chan?!" Ino growled underneath her breath, exposing her teeth to try and scare Naruto off in a weak attempt to try and get Sakura alone. "Take your damn lunch and go!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes tightly at her, his lips tightening into what looked like a rival-like glare.

Kneeling down to pick his yellow covered bento box up, Naruto slung it over his shoulder and quickly sped off with the speed of one when two enraged blondes were after him - these blondes being Tsunade and Ino and them going after him for the exact same reason.

For pressuring Sakura into doing highly intense life-changing training. Yep, he could kiss his free Ramen ticket goodbye.

Finally, after the stupid idiot had run off like hounds were at his heels, Ino was now alone with the struggling Sakura - who's teeth was still digging tightly into the blonde Jounin's shoulder.

"You know we can settle this like adults Sakura, however if you keep resorting to biting my shoulder I will most likely break your own shoulder." Ino warned harshly, her words coming out in a hiss.

Sakura didn't stop immediately, in fact the only reason she did actually stop was when Ino finally gave into the mild pain on her left shoulder and simply hit Sakura over the back of her head in a quick slap.

Resulting in them both being in an awkward position. Aka, Ino had no idea how she was now on top of the wide-eyed Sakura…All she was aware of was the red blush that was printed on the pinkette's face and how shallow her breathing had gotten.

However, Ino wasn't nicknamed Ice Queen among the people who didn't know her for nothing and she instantaneously composed her features into a hard - and not to mention cold - glare.

"Idiot." Ino murmured frostily, her lower lip pouted into a furious grimace. "Why did you pull me down onto you for? Idiot."

Sakura in reply smirked and Ino knew the moment the ANBU's lip had twitched into a smile that the battle was lost.

"I just couldn't help it I-Ino-c-chan!" Sakura stuttered so innocently that it half made Ino twitch and it half made Ino want to ravish the woman underneath her. The half of wanting increased immensely when the pinkette let her index finger rub the blonde Jounin's lower lip.

Instead of giving in like she normally would with Sakura when she did this kind of thing, Ino decided that if and she and Sakura wanted to progress through their relationship then she might as well set some boundaries…That and she deserved an apology.

So, with unfazed determination Ino let her tongue unravel from her mouth to latch around the porcelain finger that was making her lips tingle before pulling said finger into her mouth and…

Biting hard.

"Yeowch! Ino! You mother-" Sakura yelped, yanking her index finger away from her girlfriend's mouth, her eyes widening at the blood that seemed to spray along with her finger that had been cut by Ino's sharp teeth.

"You really think because I'm on top of you that I'd let you get away with what you accused me of!? Idiot!" Ino whacked the pinkette swiftly around the forehead, earning a fierce stare from the Jounin. "After everything I let you get away with, you sneaking off on those god-forsaken missions, you going off with Temari and whatever else! You're a waste of space!" Ino finished this sentence with another glare, her eyes hard as rock along with her body.

The blonde Jounin stayed in this same position even when Sakura was trembling lightly underneath her, anger, disgust, disappointment and sadness mixed into one was what Sakura was at the moment.

And Ino didn't move a inch. Tsunade's words were echoing in her head and this was enough to make her not change her stance at all.

'_I'm not going to be able to resist if she starts crying though…Ugh. Oh no! She started crying. Fuck. Damn. Close your eyes god damn it!'_ Ino cursed herself lightly, trying to tear her gaze away from the now tearful Sakura.

"Stop crying already. God damn it." Ino spat, concern taking over the anger that she wished to hold against the pinkette.

"S-sorry…" Sakura whimpered from underneath the blonde Jounin, her throat was clogged up with unneeded tears. She was crying for a reason, that was clear but the pinkette could feel the Curse Mark adding some more pressure on the emotions that was making tears fill her eyesight.

"Why the fuck are you crying anyway? I should be crying. Fucking idiot. Eat your bento lunch and shut up." Ino growled, pushing herself off the pinkette and slumping herself against the oak tree once more, eyes tightly shut.

Silence for a moment. Then the soft patter of rain hitting leaves, along with the shifting of clothing.

Something was caressing her cheek and Ino had to steel herself not to lean into the touch that was so bloody comforting it was killing her not to give into the satisfying flesh that was making her whole body shiver.

"I'm sorry because I know that I am a waste of space compared to you." Sakura whispered softly, the tone of her voice unknowingly making the blonde shudder at how gentle it was. "And this sounds so self-pitying but I mean it when I say that I don't in the slightest, deserve you."

"Idiot." Ino snarled, shutting her eyes tightly. "Stop fucking saying such crap! You know that you hate it when you talk such bullshit! You don't mean half the crap that's coming out of your god damn mouth and yet you-"

"Shut up! Idiot! You have no idea how I feel! You don't know what you make me feel when you look at me! So SHUT the FUCK up before you even start to say such fucking ridiculous stuff!" And within a second of the sentence leaving the pinkette's mouth, Ino felt a hard sting on her right cheek.

Ino blinked, opening her eyes to see that Sakura was now sobbing hard and was surprised to feel that Sakura was also clawing her legs as if they were the only thing that was keeping her upright - which was possible seeming as Sakura seemed to be more like jelly than a human by how much she was shivering and trembling.

"Sakura…" Ino's mouth felt dry and parched. It was as if the rain had somehow dried her up instead of making her soaked - however Ino knew it was the complete opposite, the way her shawl clung to her body was enough evidence. "The Curse Mark's hurting you, right?"

Sakura nodded and Ino was reminded of a wet dog with all the pink hair that was clinging at Sakura's neck and collarbone.

With a sigh of defeat, Ino grabbed Sakura by the nape of her neck and pulled the pinkette so that the wed forehead of the other woman was now settled in the valley of her breasts. "Idiot. Stupid lovable idiot."

Sakura didn't say anything in reply, instead she just shuddered against the cold and the rain whilst letting her head go further into the blonde Jounin's chest for the desperate warmth that she craved.

"There's no doubt about it. You're a bad, bad girlfriend." Ino remarked casually, chuckling at how the pinkette seemed to stiffen at her words. "But luckily, I'm an equally bad, bad girlfriend. So we're cool." _(1)_

Sakura bit her lip - which was extremely hard seeming as she was basically in between Ino's breasts and that they were both soaking wet due to the rain.

"I'm so sorry for causing you so much pain. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the accusations I've given you when I know what I was doing was worse than you could ever do." Sakura mumbled feebly, and Ino knew instantly that Sakura wanted nothing more but to crawl in a hole and die right now.

She could tell without looking at the pinkette that Sakura now felt like she was the biggest shit in the whole wide world.

"Are we always going to have this problem until that fucking bastard comes back?" Ino asked bluntly, her voice rough and tense because of the unshed tears that was threatening to spill down her cheeks. "Us always fighting. Not being able to trust each other. Are we always going to be like this?"

Ino smirked rather sadistically at how Sakura fiercely shook her head in reply and then her smile got even wider and more full at the sound of Sakura grinding her teeth.

"Of course, you would say that. Of all things." Ino's smirk then suddenly changed into a soft frown of lack of hope. "Why don't you trust me anymore Sakura? You always used to trust me with everything, you never had a tantrum if I didn't tell you anything I promised to tell you later. You were always so good with that kind of stuff. What happened with you? With us?"

Sakura's sobs ceased for a moment and Ino knew with a little sigh of relief that for now Sakura was in serious mode and wouldn't be crying for the whole explanation on what was going on with them both.

"It's because you don't' trust me Ino and you know very well -"

Ino couldn't help it, she just HAD to cut in at that sentence. "You've never given me a choice to trust you these days. You know very well why."

Ino felt her arms loosen around Sakura's shoulders and immediately tightened them at how stiff the ANBU had gotten thanks to her truthful speech.

"I know…I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. I know that. I'm really sorry for being such an idiot. I promise I won't blow up over stuff like that again." Ino felt the ANBU smile against her chest. "Hey, it's not my fault I get jealous over people taking you away from me. I'm very protective."

Ino had to bite her tongue, instead she just coughed to try and hide her sarcastic little chuckle.

"There was no need, a lot of people including fucking Tsunade have told me I'm utterly and totally whipped." Ino gazed down at the pink tresses that was covering her chest. "And they were right, but who cares? You're the only thing that matters to me now." Ino said all this whilst her fingers caressed through pink locks, eyes shining with unwanted but very undeniable adoration and love.

Those eyes then hardened.

"Now shut up and eat your bento box. Idiot."

A light snore answered her and Ino almost flipped her lid when she noticed that Sakura was practically drooling over her now wet chest.

"Fuck." With a groan, Ino swiftly lifted the pink-haired ANBU up in her arms bridal-style whilst bending down to grab the bento box between her teeth so that it rested just below her collarbone.

They would talk more tomorrow.

_Yay, another long update. That means reviews and extra cookies for me. I'm so glad my muse is back. AND leave me alone you NaruSaku people who want to bash me D: I don't give two toots about what happened in chapter 450 or whatever. I'm just the person who watches the anime. XP_

_(1) Bad Girlfriend - Theory of a Deadman...LISTEN TO IT. NOW. Kthnxbai.  
Oh and Ino isn't bi-polar thank you. Anger makes you different than you were before. Sure she was very affectionate of Sakura at the start of the chapter but that doesn't mean she can't be evil and horrible to the pinkette sometimes. It's called...LOVE. :O_

_Oh and for people who are interested, I'm writing a proper epilogue for Pretty Baby. So look forward to it. :) I'm not telling you if it's happy or not. Cause that's queer. _

_Until next time ~_


	8. The Plans of a Lord

_D: Say what? What happened guys? I promised you a long update and this is what I get? LAST UPDATE. EVERRRR. Rofl. Just kidding. Thanks for the reviews. ;D I won't be able to update as soon as people think as I'm going on Holiday soon…So whatever. ~ NOT a filler Chapter. You just have to know what to look for. ;D_

**Chapter 8**

**The Plans of a Lord**

Ino rubbed her eyes wearily, watching the pink woman lying across her waist with a sour expression mixed with one that most would recognize as sadness.

Glancing over at the Lulu alarm clock, Ino pouted her lower lip at the bright red numbers that shone out brightly to her.

_5:24am. _

Thirteen hours, Sakura had been asleep for thirteen hours…And she, Ino Yamanaka had been up for a whole twenty hours.

"Sakura?" Shaking the pinkette gently, the blonde Jounin smile softly at the grunt and swift kick she received from the ANBU who by the looks of it didn't like being disturbed in her sleep - even if she was still sound asleep and wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

With a soundless sigh, Ino let herself fall against the soft feathery fabric of her three red, spotty pillows - bringing the sleeping ANBU along with her.

If she was correct, then Naruto's surprise birthday bonanza would be today in Temari's club: The Drunken Thief and if she was also correct, then there would be plenty of sake in the storage cupboards underneath the end seat of the fifth table - aka they would be breaking into Tsunade's secret stash.

At the thought of them even going near Tsunade's secret stash, Ino's delicate fingers tightened around Sakura's slim waist possessively as if even Sakura touching the stuff would most likely make Sakura drop dead in a couple of seconds.

'_She is not going anywhere near that stuff, if she's anything like Tsunade then she'll be down on the floor after her first shot.'_ Ino thought bitterly, shaking her head at how, now that she thought about it, it seemed that she was most likely going to grow up with a mini-Tsunade until she was dead and gone.

This time, Ino did sigh. Loud and clear with a hint of weariness that could only be recognized as her being tired. Which she was…So tired, it was unbelievable how worn out she felt by just looking at Sakura sleep naked against her waist.

As if Sakura had somehow read her mind, the pinkette kicked the sheets that were surrounding her waist which made the linen fabric slide down so that it only rested just below the ANBU's waist.

Blushing with a hint of a smirk on her features, Ino couldn't help but let her hand roam Sakura's porcelain fortress of a body, grinning devilishly at herself whenever her hand lingered on a certain spot and the pinkette reacted with a rough groan of desire.

The Jounin felt no guilt at touching Sakura like this, in fact she revelled in the fact that she would hopefully be the only one who could touch Sakura like this even if said person was asleep…Not that she couldn't touch Sakura like this when she wasn't asleep.

On the contrary, Ino enjoyed making love to Sakura whenever she could. It wasn't that she was sex mad, it was just the fact that she couldn't stand not touching the pinkette and because of this Ino immediately reminded Sakura that she was like her own personal drug that she would most likely never give up even if someone paid a doctor to help her.

'_This is horrible. I'm violating Sakura. The shame my family must feel…Oh well, it's so much fun!'_ Ino thought gleefully, rolling over onto her side so that she could stare lustfully at the sleeping form of none other than Haruno Sakura, her one and only.

She had promised to talk to with Sakura once the ANBU had awoken, yet whenever she thought of the oncoming conversation that was sure to come…Ino wanted to hide in her duvet and stay there forever.

It wasn't right, lying in bed next to the sleeping Sakura, dreading what was to come, fearing what they might say to each other and knowing that what she was fearing was absolutely selfish.

It was selfish that she, Ino, was terrified of said conversation because of the fear that Sakura would finally say no that she would finally say no - with an unwilling glint and passion - no to the relationship that they were fighting so desperately to keep together…Yet getting hurt each day because of it.

There wasn't a day that one of them didn't cry, if Ino didn't cry, Sakura did and if Sakura didn't cry, then Ino was positive that she did.

What a disaster they had both placed themselves in. Of course, she shouldn't have expected anything different from their relationship, Ino had always known one day it would collapse under the strain…She just really hoped she wouldn't be alive to see it, that or she had grown so tired of Sakura and wouldn't care.

She was a fool to think so, but Ino had really believed that she would grow so tired and angry at Sakura that one day, _she_ would get up one day and just leave Sakura in a cold bed. Alone.

Yet, the attraction and love that had already been there for the pink-haired woman still remained. On the contrary, her feelings for Sakura had most likely grew over the year that they had spent together - even if half of the year was spent arguing whilst then having make-up sex…

"I'm tired. And thinking stupid fucked up thoughts…" Ino murmured softly to herself, pressing the lower part of her palm against her right eye whilst keeping the other pressed securely around Sakura's slim waist.

This wasn't good for her health, stressing and being tired at the same time was something that was going to kill her in addition to her being dead, then Ino knew Tsunade was probably going to somehow revive her and then kill her for missing Naruto's stupid return party.

Groaning at how her eyes just didn't want to close, Ino decided that she would probably have to eat something before she could even get close enough to get the amount of sleep she planned for tonight which if she was honest, wasn't a lot seeming it was almost time to get up anyway.

With that in her mind, the blonde Jounin smoothly removed porcelain hands away from her waist and in one swift movement replaced her waist with the pillow that her head had been lying on so that Sakura wouldn't wake up without something to hold onto.

Whatever had happened to that old saying that old farts like Tsunade used? "I rise with the sun, not before it." What a load of crap that turned out to be.

Sliding out of bed with unexpected ease for someone who was so sleep-deprived, Ino hurriedly threw her side of the duvet over Sakura's upper-body before continuing her way into the lounge where the door to the ledge lay.

Hurrying out onto the ledge, Ino let out a sigh of relief as she let her whole body collapse against the rails that were stopping her falling from her death into the deserted streets below.

Even against the harsh blowing wind that was making her eyes sting and her vision blur, still Ino found her eyes closing slowly and softly as if they were meant to close yet not to succumb to sleep.

"My god, what the hell is wrong with me?" Ino whispered softly to herself, her words coming out in a puff of frosty air, chilling her to the core mentally and physically. "Why can't I sleep? I haven't been able to sleep properly since Sakura got that damn Curse Mark? What the hell is going on with my body?"

Nothing answered her and Ino wasn't even surprised when someone from the lower part of the apartment told her to shut the fuck up before they threw their ninja stars where the sun didn't shine.

Without a single glance at whom could the offender of yelling abuse to her - even though she would find out when she could be bothered and would remind the fucking bastard to keep his or her mouth closed when she was talking to herself - Ino managed to drag herself up to go back to bed.

She just hoped Sakura didn't wake her up if she got to sleep again. That was, if she was going to go to sleep.

**- -**

"Ugh. I feel like I've had a hangover." Sakura mumbled grumpily into the pillow that she was snuggling against her face, faintly moaning at the pleasurable aches that occurred around her body's joints.

She grumbled even more at the light that was now hitting her in the face.

"Inoooooo. Shut the curtains…" Sakura stretched out for the blonde, her hands only meeting sheets and fabric that certainly did not feel anything like her blonde girlfriend.

At this thought, Sakura jolted up from her bed. Instantly awake with wide eyes, her whole body trembling at the cold that has somehow managed to work its way into her entire system.

Glancing around, Sakura feels her heart clench and unwillingly tears start to well up in her eyes. Has Ino-? Did she-?

'_Did she leave me?'_

Panic. Something that Sakura has never felt fully. Not really, but now it was rushing through her veins like poison would do. And like poison, every breath she exhaled hurt her chest painfully. And like poison, Sakura found it hard to breathe at the panic that was making her head sting and groan in protest.

Unless…

Sakura turned on to her stomach, crawling across the large king-sized bed until she got to the end and without hesitation, peeped over the edge to see if maybe she was right after all.

Relief. Like an antidote. It soothed the ANBU's soul from the poison along with the fact that…That Ino wasn't - hadn't - gone.

She had just fallen off the edge of the bed and was now by the looks of it was clutching the side of the bed as if her life depended on it and looking at how the blonde Jounin was snuggled with a pout on her face as she slept…

Sakura found it truly adorable. To be able to see Ino like this…She was just so glad that she could see this side of Ino while others did not…Sakura felt superior at knowing more about Ino than others…Powerful.

"Ino…" Without knowing what she was doing, without a plan whatsoever…Sakura lifted herself off their bed before kneeling down next to the blonde Jounin and within a second lifting Ino gently up so that the blonde's head was resting in the crook of Sakura's arm. "You're…-"

Gasping at how the blonde suddenly moved in her arms, Sakura almost dropped the Jounin when she began wriggling in her strong arms - most likely trying to get comfortable thanks to the way her body had been changed by the pinkette - yet grinned wryly when the Jounin let out a little tired yawn before wriggling once more so that she was now on her side, face in Sakura's chest.

"Really beautiful." Sakura murmured dreamily, brushing a blonde strand away from closed cobalt eyes.

The ANBU then blinked, then shook her head almost immediately. "Geez…My head's getting fuzzier by the second. It's making me feel corny." With that in her mind, Sakura turned swiftly before placing Ino gently in the middle of their bed.

Gazing at the Lulu alarm clock, Sakura raised a perfectly shaped pink brow at the time that was glowing out at her.

_12:34am_

Well, Naruto's party was at six-thirty so that gave Sakura plenty of time to do her normal routines before heading off to Yamanaka's shop so that maybe she could surprise her blonde girlfriend with some flowers…That was, if Ino wasn't working today. Cause that would suck. And be pointless.

But whatever, Sakura wouldn't let that obvious flaw ruin her plans for today. Nope! Anyway, she was sure that Ino wouldn't mind her going out to do her routines and check up on a few people.

'_Even if she's sort of supposed to be looking after me. Oh well! Ino's a big girl now, she can deal with Tsunade.'_ Sakura thought with a smug smirk, rubbing the nape of her neck before shuffling towards her drawer where her clothes lay.

Once she had got ready with her usual Jounin gear - it was pretty sad that she only wore modern clothing when it came to parties and all other crap, though she supposed it was all for a good reason. Where was a kunai in a jumper? Huh? That's right, she'd stab herself if she wasn't careful (stupid Tsunade and her troublesome worries).

Tsunade also told Sakura that she wasn't allowed to wear her ANBU gear on days with missions either. When Sakura had ignored her sensei one time - a time where things seemed to make a lot more sense - the pinkette had paid by running to the Lightning Country and back…A hundred times.

So she was stuck with her old dumpy Jounin gear. Great. Oh well, once she had her medic job back then she would be out of this crappy gear and into some real clothes!

Even if they were scrubs and was rather clingy to her body and that did nothing but make the male patients stare.

Whatever. Scribbling down a quick note and literally sticking it lightly to Ino's forehead - whilst also pecking her girlfriend shyly on the lips - Sakura threw a quick grin over her shoulder.

Which quickly disappeared into a sullen look of forbidden emotion. Like, Sakura had somehow messed up in something that she had planned. And she had, she had told herself that if she wanted to keep Ino yet not get so close that she would actually make the blonde fall in love with her as much as she herself loved the blonde - though as many people reminded her, it was far too late for that - then she would have to bottle down her emotions until they - her and Naruto - had managed to get the Uchia.

Forbidden fruit. Forbidden flower. Not allowed. Do not touch. Illegal. Prohibited. Nuh uh. No can do.

Why couldn't she get that in her head? She had to be patient. Not to rush her and Ino into anything that she couldn't keep steady, she couldn't push her and Ino's relationship forward when she was too busy to keep the blonde Jounin happy. It was wrong.

She was already furious at herself for letting herself open up to the blonde Jounin last night, crying and falling asleep in the rain? How stupid of her, now she would just have to tighten her walls…

However, she just couldn't help it. Now, even as she was staring so longingly at the blonde angel that was sleeping silently - like an angel should - against the tons of pillows that were surrounding her body like a shield.

_I __love__ you_

Mouthing the words, it didn't sound right because it had no voice…No sound at all. Yet, that was all Sakura could do for not. Until she got Uchia, she couldn't - wouldn't - let herself get even deeper - she was so far gone already, she didn't even know if she could go any deeper.

And that was why she was so downright egotistic. Sakura could clearly see she was the one that was causing all the pain. The pain that was ripping her and Ino apart. Limp by limp, piece by piece…Solid into fractured.

Shrugging her shoulders - as if trying to shake away the guilt that was clinging so tightly to her shoulders - Sakura left the apartment without another glance. Fear of running into Ino's arms scaring the living daylights out of her. Forbidden.

**- -**

The first thing of today was going to check up on Ino's team that she would be receiving in another couple of months. Sakura was always the one who checked up on Ino's Jounin profiles, nobody had done it for her when she had become Jounin and she knew that nobody had done it for the rest of her friends.

Being an ANBU and a student of Tsunade-sama did have its advantages when it came to work, but honestly Sakura still didn't feel all that comfortable when people that were lower than her - only in work! - glared at her when they thought she wasn't looking.

Seriously, what a bunch of bastards.

Once at her arrival to Tsunade's office to collect Ino's team's records, Sakura stopped at the door with her ear pressed against the wood: and was intensely surprised to hear shouts and whispers all rolled into one.

"_Tsunade, you seriously can't be telling me that you'd sacrifice Sakura's and -" _Shizune was whispering hurriedly and Sakura had to bite her lip to stop herself from gasping at what Shizune had surely been about to say.

"_I am being serious…It's the only way we'll be able to track Lut. Besides, it's not like it's real. They won't be sacrificing anything." _Tsunade replied calmly. Nonetheless, Sakura could _feel_ the solemn tone that was starting to creep in.

"_But that's a preposterous thing to say! They'll be sacrificing everything! Would you really go so far just to help get rid of the Curse Mark?_" By now Shizune was starting to get louder and louder which made Sakura wonder if Tsunade's so-called-secret-mistress knew she was here and was trying to warn her.

But warn her from what? What was Tsunade-sama planning to get rid of her Curse Mark? How would she be sacrificing something? No, no. How would _they_ be sacrificing something? And who was they? Sakura knew she was one of those people that Shizune and Tsunade-sama was talking about, but who was she accompanied with?

Ino? Naruto? Temari? It could easily be anyone, relationships just didn't mean love. They meant friendships, enemies, rivals and people who you just had to bare even if you didn't like them.

Nevertheless, even if that question was bugging her the most; Sakura had to focus on the one question that needed to be answered so that she could locate the answer to her first question.

Who in god's name was bloody Lut? How would she/he help her get rid of the Curse Mark? And why was Tsunade-sama going so far to track the person?

Okay, so that was more than one question, nevertheless they were still important essentials to the final answer that Sakura would need even if they were in a very complicated order.

"_Do you really think that __they__ will approve when they find out what you're doing? How do you know you can even trust_ _this Bishamon? If he's a Lord then why would he know where Lut may be?!_" Shizune was now starting to ask multiple questions in very short sentences, almost confusing the pinkette until she herself had no idea what they had been talking about until a loud bang occurred inside Tsunade's office.

With a disappointed sigh, Sakura shook her head in disgust. Obviously Tsunade had broken her desk in two with both of her fists.

"_First of all, I don't really give a crap if they don't approve or not. The old crumply bastards." _Tsunade snarled angrily - Sakura could imagine her Sensei even having the power to actually show only her canines to try and scare Shizune off in a desperate attempt to have some peace from this situation.

"_Secondly, I don't trust this Bishamon, however I have no other option. We have no leads on Lut at all. As for him being a Lord, well…Let's just say that his name being Bishamon Lut does make me wonder how he would know where Lut's whereabouts are."_

A noise of protest sounded through the door at that, followed by a loud growl of impatience.

"_Don't even think about telling those lot up there Shizune, or you'll be out of Konoha before you can say Haruko!_" Tsunade said this with a hint of edginess, making Sakura wonder if Tsunade was actually nervous that Shizune would go to tell 'those lot up there' as the Hokage kindly put it.

A snort filled the pinkette's ears, surprising Sakura to the fullest at whom spoke after the sound. Surely Shizune wished to have her whole body in one piece after she had finished speaking to Tsunade?

"_Haruko. Tch. What kind of name is that? Haruko Lut? Have you discussed this with the Yamanaka's at all? Or are you just going to sell their only -" _

Sakura had to bite her tongue to stop a growl from escaping her parted lips. Shizune just seemed to be cutting off at every sentence that was most vital to the answer the pink-haired ANBU was looking for and because of this Sakura now had a sinking feeling that both Tsunade and Shizune knew she was there.

"_Of course I've talked to the Yamanaka's. And they've agreed. Surprisingly. Kaori seemed to be pleased about the arrangement actually." _

"_Kaori would. She'd love to know that her daughter and the Lord Bishamon's -"_ Shizune cut herself off once more, stifling a cough with what Sakura guessed was her hand.

'_Figures. They so know I'm here. For fuck sake. I don't even know why I'm listening to this. Apart from that I know it's about me…And apparently Ino. What in god's name is going on?'_

"_Kaori is a woman that loves money Shizune, you can hardly blame her for being excited." _Tsunade responded back to her friend with a tone that was full of ice and cold frost. So cold, that Sakura instantly shivered once the words that had left Tsunade's lips had sunk in.

"_Still. Why must the woman be blonde? And blue eyes? Surely this family isn't related to Germans?_" (1)

A muffled laugh. Sakura crossed both of her eyebrows together in frustration. Geez Tsunade-sama! Geez! How inconsiderate was the Hokage? Laughing about the Lut's being related to Germans?

"_They aren't related to Germans, Shizune. All through their life their family has had blonde hair and blue eyes. They don't want to break tradition."_

'_Tradition? What the heck? All through their life their family has had blonde hair and blue eyes? Why has this got anything to do with Ino? The hell?_'

Another snort broke out.

"_I hope you're going to explain this all to Sakura, she won't take it well despite what she says._" Shizune spoke passionately, her anger clear as it sounded through the wooden door and into Sakura's head. Obviously Shizune didn't care anymore if she was outside or not seeming as she was now starting to make a little bit of sense.

"_Huh, yeah. Anyway, open the door please. Sakura is at the door and no doubt she will be questioning us on what we were talking about seeming as she is a nosy little bitch."_

Sakura immediately jumped back at her Sensei's words, eyes wide and alert along with her body which had also tensed once the words had finally sunk into her brain.

Then the door opened and Sakura felt like she was most likely going to faint at how many people were actually in the room.

Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei, Shizune-san, Yamato-sensei, Kurenai-sensei and to make matters worse - even if it almost seemed impossible to make worse - was a strange looking man who wore the headband of the Lightning Country.

Why did this make it any worse? Well for one…Sakura didn't know who the hell the guy was and secondly of all…

He had blonde hair along with blue eyes. That and he looked extremely angry at something. What the hell was going on here? Why had it seemed like only Shizune and Tsunade-sama were the only ones in the room? Why in god's name couldn't she sense any other chakra's?

Before she could try to work out these questions, Sakura was pulled in the room with a full forced tug by none other than the Lightning stranger who by the looks of it was now shooting her evil glances as he stepped back after pulling her in the room.

"Now, now Ryuu. We don't want you pulling Sakura by her arms into my office. In fact, if you touch her like that again I'll kick your fucking arse." Tsunade smiled sweetly at the blonde man, who in reply smiled bitterly back at her with a roll of his eyes.

Blinking to try and refocus her mind, Sakura found herself swallowing her own saliva before looking warily over at the blonde bastard who had pulled her so forcefully into Tsunade-sama's office with suspicious eyes.

"Who the fuck are you staring at?" The blonde stranger seemed to growl angrily at her, his blue eyes full of fire and passion.

However, even if he was from the Lightning Country, Sakura was hardly going to show any respect to any stranger who talked to her like she was some piece of filth on someone's shoe.

"I could ask you the same question. Who the fuck are you?" Sakura snarled, her lower lip curling down whilst her upper lip curled up in an unmistakable growl.

"Ah, ah. Sakura maybe you could just come here and say what you want to say and go hmm?" Kakashi-sensei seemed to be trying to reason her, but with anger as thick as smoke still clouding her concentration, Sakura basically ignored reason.

Instead she waited for this Lightning Idiot's answer with eyes made of steel. Whatever this prick's problem was she was going to find out before she left Tsunade's office even if she didn't like the problem or not, she was going to fucking find out.

The blonde chuckled sadistically, giving a crooked sideways smile at her before coughing lightly as if to clear his throat.

"I'm Ryuu Lut. You're obviously Sakura, however you didn't answer my question." He folded his arms against his waist, making him look like he was hugging himself. "Who the fuck are you staring at?"

"Ryuu fucking Lut if you continue with your foul behaviour and language then-" Tsunade was cut off by a snort mixed with a cough along with comments of 'hypocrite' and the likes.

"Hokage-sama. Let him finish. Maybe it would be easier this way…" Kurenai seemed to be defending the blonde bastard or it looked that way to Sakura until the red-eyed Jounin gave the blonde a sneer with her eyes. "Meeting the family of course…"

"Whoa, that was a low blow." Kakashi seemed to be surprised by his friend's backbone. Even she, Sakura was astonished by Kurenai-sensei…Surely somebody was scared of the Hokage as much as she was apart from Ino?!

Tsunade in response to all this clapped her hands over her eyes and let out an exaggerated groan. "Why are you all against me on this?! I'm only doing what's best for Konoha and its people! Something I haven't done since ages ago. I haven't even had one glass of sake today y'know?! So why are you all against me?!"

"You're selling my brother off! That's why I'm against you!" Ryuu yelled suddenly, his cerulean eyes wide and fierce.

"What?! Tsunade-sama you're selling his freaking brother?!" Sakura roared, outraged at everything that she was hearing. "His brother?! Hell now even I'm against you!"

"Back off you pink-haired little slut! Nobody asked for your opinion!" Ryuu retorted back, his features twisted into a furious grimace.

At this, Sakura's face became suddenly emotionless. "Fuck it, sell his brother. I don't give a shit." Then, her gaze snapped up to meet the gaze of none other than her Sensei. "Tsunade-sama, could you please give me Ino Yamanaka's Jounin records please?"

A grunt came from Ryuu along with mumbles under his breath and at this point Sakura had to inhale so it would stop her from shoving a kunai up a place where the sun didn't shine sideways.

Closing her eyes, Sakura let her chakra roam so that she could try and focus more intensely on this Ryuu's chakra as she waited for Tsunade-sensei to find Ino's Jounin records.

Sure enough she managed to locate it and scrutinize it in a matter of moments and so her being baffled by how little chakra he had taken up most of the time of her waiting for Tsunade.

'_Fucking hell, no wonder I couldn't locate his chakra before. He hardly has any.'_ Sakura's brow furrowed in absorption. '_But that doesn't explain why I couldn't sense or locate the others chakra._"

Deciding to ignore this miraculous event for now, Sakura timidly opened her eyes to see two piles of sheets on Tsunade's desk.

Tsunade then pointed at the first pile of sheets, distracting Sakura from all her thoughts on the situation on hand.

"That sheet is just basically about Ino being a Jounin in general." A wry smirk crossed Tsunade's features for a moment before turning back to its normal bored expression. "The other sheet is about Ino's Jounin team."

"Not that she'll need one." Kurenai murmured underneath her breath, covering her tracks with a slight cough and puff of her chest.

With an angry snarl, Sakura turned on all them - one hand clenched in a fist whilst the other fastened tightly around the sheet with information on Ino's Jounin team - her teeth bared in an animalistic roar.

"Okay, so can you please tell me what I'm missing here?! Why is everyone talking in freaking riddles for gods sake?! Don't I have the reason to know what the hell is going on here?!"

In reply, Yamato stepped forward with both of his hands in the air in what looked like to be an attempt of trying to reason with the whole situation.

"Sakura, why don't you just leave this to us. It is none of your concern at the moment. It's just between us and the Yamanaka's-"

Sakura had no idea how this didn't include her. She was basically related, even if Kaori didn't approve of her being in a relationship with her precious daughter - the woman basically thought that she had turned Ino into a dyke.

"To hell it isn't my business! I'm Ino's fucking girlfriend! I have a right to know what the hell is going on between-"

"Whoa! Hold the phone! You're going out with Ino Yamanaka? You told me that Ino Yamanaka was -!"

Sakura couldn't stand it, all of this yelling and accusations. All of it. It was clogging up her brain and making her absolutely infuriated by all the sound that was making her head scream like thunder and it was all thanks to herself for getting up late to go get Ino's Jounin records.

"Shut the fuck up you fucked up little Lightning Kid! Sakura get your fucking ass out of here right now before I kick it out!" Tsunade had now stood up from her chair and Sakura couldn't help but cower at how intimidating her Sensei looked when she was this livid.

"Eh?! Who are you to tell me to shut the fuck up huh?!" Ryuu glowered at the Hokage, his boyish features pressed into a pout.

Sakura scowled at the blonde. '_Geez, his mouth is even worse than the Akatsuki member Hidan's…'_

"Sakura!!"

With a sulky humph, Sakura turned her back on the Hokage and her Sensei before walking out in a very stiff manner - which could be due to the fact that she was still not very impressed or happy that she basically knew nothing about the situation that was going on inside that very building.

"It's like they've totally forgotten that I am actually Ino's girlfriend and that I'm also the student of Tsunade-sama." Slapping her palm to her forehead, Sakura let out an exaggerated groan. "They're assholes."

Taking a quick look over Ino's Jounin notes even if she was feeling a bit off thanks to the events that had happened in Tsunade's office, Sakura couldn't help but grin at whom Ino would be training.

She also couldn't help chuckling at Tsunade's notes on these trio of what seemed to be misfits.

'_Aoi Takashi, Tsubomi Ren and Hanazano Nico.'_ Well they seemed troublesome enough, so troublesome in fact that maybe Ino would forget some things about Sakura that got on her nerves - Sakura forgetting to pay some of the bills being one of them.

With that thought, Sakura felt her smile loosen slightly.

'_Well, I'll look over these Jounin files tomorrow. Now I'll just head over to the Yamanaka's to pick some flowers for Ino.'_ Even if Ino worked at the damn place, it didn't mean she couldn't make the effort to please the blonde Jounin. '_I just hope to god Kaori isn't serving me. She'll most likely make me pay double. Scheming bitch.'_

Walking out of the main building, Sakura eyed the top floor cautiously. Whatever was happening up there, she didn't like it.

And she was going to find out what was going up there, even if it somehow managed to kill her.

**- -**

Whispers seemed to be following her everywhere she went today, first at Tsunade's office and now as she waited at Yamanaka's Sakura could hear the frustrated and angry whispers inside.

"_What I'm doing is for the best Inoichi! Do you see what that dyke has made Ino become? I've never ever seen her so sad before! And we all know who to thank for that!"_ Kaori seemed to whispering anxiously and Sakura could imagine the repulsive frown that was creasing her forehead.

"_I know! I know Kaori! But don't you think that we should ask Ino about this first?_"

Sakura smirked callously at this. Of course, Inoichi was always the one to try and make things sound better than they were.

However, she didn't want to hear it anymore. She was sick and tired of having to hear whispers and not know the full story about it anymore even if she was the one that they were talking about along with Ino. It was just too much.

Pushing the oak door open, Sakura pasted a large and fake grin on her porcelain features.

"HE-y; where'd everyone go?"

It was true, the room was deserted and by the looks of it whoever had been in here had left in a hurry - discarded flowers lay over the counter and dirt and soil seemed to be covering the floor near the counter as well.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Sakura yelled, cupping her mouth with her hands for added effect to her efforts.

Nobody answered. It seemed that Inoichi and Kaori had managed to slip out of the shop by the back, probably because they had sensed her coming and had probably decided that they might as well make a run for it before she heard anymore.

Whatever, it didn't bother her. If they weren't here by the time that she had picked the flowers for Ino then she would merely just walk out with the damn flowers, it wasn't like she was stealing them after all seeming as she had Ino for her girlfriend who was one of the owners to the shop.

Strolling over to what looked like to be a promising part of the shop, Sakura started to search for the perfect flower type for Ino - she really had no idea what Ino would do to her if she somehow managed to get an offensive flower for her blonde girlfriend.

Maybe she should get a flower for that Ryuu Lut guy, whoever he was Sakura didn't like his attitude and because of it, Ryuu Lut kept invading her mind with his ugly, angry, little piggy face.

She just hoped he wasn't staying here because if he was Sakura would have to punch him in his face whenever she saw him. Geez, and she thought Sai was bad, but this guy was just plain creepy.

Whatever, she couldn't let him get in the way of her flower picking for Ino; she was just glad that she knew most of the meanings of these flowers or she'd probably be hit repeatedly because of her mistakes. She remembered Ino's past boyfriends yelling abuse and running thanks to them getting their flower meanings wrong.

First Rule When Going Out With Ino Yamanaka: Know your flower meanings for fuck sake.

Fingering a petal of a red rose, Sakura smirked smugly at the velvet feel of the petal on her finger.

'_A red rose means love. Well…Maybe I should get her two of them…Or should I? Ugh…This is so hard! I do love her but…I shouldn't really let her know so much about it yet.'_ Yanking a pink strand that was getting in the way of her flower-gazing, Sakura let out a little sigh. She wasn't ready to fall deeper, she had to keep her distance yet still be able to show Ino how she felt without her and Ino getting too close for comfort. She didn't want to bring Ino into a relationship she couldn't hold steady at the moment. It wasn't because she didn't love the blonde because by Kami she did, she just…Sometimes, it was just hard.

'_I guess it couldn't hurt getting her a red rose. Two in fact. But whatever, I need to somehow show her more about my feelings for her. Roses are far too simple.' _Sakura let her eyes scan over the various types of flowers for a moment…Before stopping at one that caught her eye.

A twitch of her lips formed into a defiant smirk. '_A cactus? Lust and sex. What a laugh that'll be.'_ Picking the plant up by its pot, Sakura chuckled under her breath at the prickly green texture that was making her skin tingle pleasantly. '_I'll have that as a side order. Hopefully whoever serves me won't figure it out who I'm giving it too._'

Once glancing at the other flowers, Sakura had finally made her choice of having two red roses, a yuri, - _sweet_ - a yellow camelia - _longing - _and a side order of a cactus, the pink-haired ANBU straightened up to look at her flowers with a proud grin on her face.

Then before she could turn to actually go pay for her flowers - that or she'd run off and give the money to Ino before anyone could get her for thievery, cough cough, Kaori - two hands pressed firmly against her shoulder blades along with two breasts being pushed directly against her back.

"Eh?!" Sakura gasped slightly as the two hands that had been on her shoulder blades slowly crept down so that they were now groping at her firmly shaped butt. "I swear to fucking god if you are someone who I don't know you are fucking dead, you hear me you freaking pervert?!"

A little laugh answered her, startling the pinkette to the core nevertheless before she could even think about protesting, she was spun around to meet the dominatrix grin of none other than Ino Yamanaka.

"Hey. I couldn't help but notice something hot in my shop so I thought I'd check it out." The blonde Jounin smirked wickedly, her hands still resting on the pinkette's ass. "That and I lost my number, can I have yours?"

In response, Sakura rolled her eyes and let out a little giggle which surprisingly led to her blushing at the seductive little smirk that was appearing on Ino's features.

"You're an idiot. Where'd you learn that one? Naruto?" Nevertheless, even if Ino was acting a bit idiotic today, Sakura found that to be one of Ino's sexiest features. So with that, Sakura didn't mind wrapping her arms around Ino's neck and giving the blonde an open mouthed kiss to her collar.

"As a matter of fact…I did learn it from Naruto." Ino responded with a yawn, a wry grin on her already smug features.

"Figures." Sakura laughed, snuggling her nose into the crook of Ino's neck which in reply made the blonde Jounin sigh silently in ecstasy at the touch. Sakura must have been in a good mood today because she'd never act so cuddly with her before, that or maybe Sakura had finally given in to pushing her away last night in the rain…

"So? Those flowers that you've got in your hand are kind of tickling the back of my neck. Who are they for? Someone special?" Ino grinned lively, pulling away from the ANBU to examine the flowers in Sakura's hand with wide eyes. "Ohh…The meanings of those flowers…"

"They're for you!" Sakura yelled all of a sudden, head bowed - to hide her blush - and both hands outstretched with said flowers in both of her palms. "I meant to give them to you as a surprise, but y'know I should've figured you'd be here seeming as you…Own the place kind of…"

Ino looked down at the flowers in astonishment…Yet, once re-reading the meanings of each flower, a bright and soft smile appeared on her gentle and delicate features at once.

Then, almost as if her body was programmed to do this whenever Sakura showed a part of her that Ino didn't recognize before, Ino found herself stiffening at the meaning of each flowers.

"T-they're…" The blonde Jounin didn't know what to say. What could she say? It was so obvious what she SHOULD say other than it wasn't what she wanted to say, in fact what she should say didn't even roll on her tongue right…

The blonde's lids snapped back all of a sudden at the look of terror that seemed to have somehow sprouted on the pinkette's face and instantly she stepped back.

"Uh!! Ahh! S-sorry! Did I get the meanings wrong?!" Sakura was now whispering to herself in what seemed to be a panicky tone. "Damn it! Damn it! Sorry!"

At that moment, Ino found herself half wanting to hold the pink-haired ANBU in her arms and half of her wanting to run away from the pinkette in apprehension. She'd never in a million years seen the pinkette look so worried and sincere about something that was to do with her…

What the hell was she thinking?! Here Sakura was stressing over something that was completely unnecessary to stress over and all she was doing was staring at the ANBU like a scientist discovering the reason to life, what a complete idiot she was being!

What to do? What to do?! She didn't want to sound like she was confused at what Sakura was doing seeming as that would only knock the pinkette's confidence and that was something the blonde Jounin did not want to happen.

Then, in a spur of the moment kind of sequence…Ino had snatched all of the flowers out of Sakura's hands - including the cactus which was in a pot -, placed said flowers behind her on a shelf and roughly shoved the ANBU into the crook of her neck which was now covered in pink strands.

Her slender arms was wrapped tightly around Sakura's lower back, crisscrossing each other in a way Ino used to crisscross herself in a position of what could be identified as 'hugging' herself in a protective manner.

"Uh? Ino?" Sakura mumbled into the crook of Ino's neck, her tongue accidentally flittering over the Jounin's skin in her attempt to talk. "Innoooo!?" Why was the Jounin remaining silent? It was making her damn nervous god damn it! Had she or had she not done something wrong?

Ino on the other hand, was tightening her grip on Sakura and because of this she had to keep her eyes tightly shut. Tears were starting to well up in the corners of her eyes…And she didn't like it one bit.

Tsunade's words kept replaying in her head yet every time they did appear, Ino hardly listened to them. In fact, she didn't listen at all.

"T-they're really nice Saku." Her voice had given in at the beginning which was the reason why Ino had clenched her delicate fingers even tighter around the Jounin jacket that the pinkette was wearing to give herself an extra boost.

"Ino? Are you crying?!" Shit, now she had done it. She'd really fucked this one up. If she had use of her arms, Sakura would have whacked herself over the head repeatedly in an attempt to at least TRY to get some sense into her brain.

"No! Nuh uh! Idiot!" Ino let the ANBU go instantly, hands immediately going to her eyes to wipe away the traitor of tears that were starting to creep down her cheeks. "I'm not crying!"

"Eh?! Ino you are crying!" Sakura really had no idea why, she had only brought flowers for the Jounin…And by the looks of it she had picked the right ones with the right meanings. What the hell was going on with the world?!

"So?! Leave me alone!" Ino snapped, pouting her lower lip out at Sakura in a cute glower. "I'm allowed to cry aren't I?!"

"But I'm your girlfriend!" Sakura cried out in anxiety, lifting her hands up in the air to clamp around her head in frustration. "As being your girlfriend I hate it when you cry so what the hell?!"

A whimper and soft sob answered the irritated - yet worried - pink-haired ANBU and once again Sakura found herself in a bone-crushing hug.

"Eh?! Ino?! What's with all the hugging?! Ino?!" Seriously, what was up with the Blonde Jounin? Was she -?

"Ino are you on your period or something?! Geez woman!" Scowling whilst blushing at the sudden show of affection, Sakura placed her arms up in the air so that the blonde wouldn't completely crush her.

"Y-you really care? Y-you hate it when I cry?" Ino mumbled into Sakura's shoulder, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"Uh. Sure?" Sakura answered uncertainly, glancing down at the unsteady blonde against her left shoulder. "I mean, yeah. Duh. Course I do."

Sakura thought it was going to get better, seriously she did. However, whatever she had just said just made the Jounin wet her Jounin jacket even further. "Ino!? Pull yourself together god damn it!" Stop crying!"

In response, the blonde did pull away. But only to punch the pinkette in the ribs before pulling her into another tight hug.

"Ouch! Ino what the hell?!" Sakura continued to protest, wincing at the stinging pain that had now appeared thanks to Ino's impossibly strong punch.

"I-it's just that…You just gave me the impression you didn't care before y'know? All the times that you left on those missions." Sakura thanked Kami that Ino was now making sense, geez even if she didn't look it, Ino was impeccably strong.

"Sometimes without even telling me. You just really acted that you didn't care about me…But you do! Even if you put up those stupid walls of yours! Baka!" Ino squealed, clenching her arm's tighter and tighter around Sakura's lower back.

At that point in time, Sakura felt something wriggle low in her stomach…Something that had nothing to do with hunger.

Guilt? Happiness? Sakura sometimes couldn't tell the difference and these were certainly one of those times…Had she really made Ino so unhappy that she thought that she didn't care?

A part of Sakura wanted Ino to think like that and this was part was yelling at her for questioning what she herself wanted, what she yearned for and what she couldn't have at the moment.

Nevertheless, maybe she could break a rule today…

'_One today, all of them tomorrow.'_ Her own thoughts scowled at her in such a patronizing way that Sakura had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling sheepishly.

Of course she cared. Stupid blonde idiotic Jounin. Stupid Jounin.

Curling her one hand into a fist whilst letting the other hand trail up Ino's hips towards Ino's chin, Sakura tilted her head down - she couldn't actually believe she was taller than the older woman - and pressed her lips gently at the milky white forehead that she just loved to melt into with her lips.

Then before Ino could protest - the idiot always did when she didn't get kissed anywhere but the lips - Sakura lunged herself at the blonde with more force, pinning the Jounin against her very own counter.

While Sakura's eyes were closed, Ino's were open in astonishment and shock. Reason being, the kiss was soft, slow and it made the blonde want to tug at all of Sakura's clothes so that she could imprint another pattern of love bites all over Sakura's breasts and stomach.

"Resistance is futile." Ino bit her lower lip to stop herself from groaning at the husky voice and smirk that was imprinting against her lips and on instinct to the wandering hand that was slipping up her black Jounin shirt, shut her eyes in bliss.

"Who'd be resisting against you?" Ino whined hotly, both of her hands going under Sakura's Jounin jacket and straight up the ANBU's own black Jounin shirt.

"Good point." With a smug smirk, Sakura started to paint breathy open-mouthed kisses down the blonde Jounin's neck before letting her tongue start to trace circles around skin, watching it darken in delight before plunging back in with little bites and nipples as if making up for lost time.

"Sakura…" Ino whimpered, pressing her hips into the ANBU's own, and with a serrated rhythm, began to grind roughly into Sakura's.

The ANBU gasped and let her head tilt back away from Ino's neck and collar, letting her dainty porcelain digits curl into the diaphanous blonde fortress that she knew so well.

A growl escaped Ino's parted lips at the action, however, instead of typically placing her mouth where Sakura wanted to, she instead let her hands trail from Sakura's shoulders and collarbone. As her hands reached Sakura's shoulders, she mercilessly shoved a knee in between Sakura's legs, separating them.

"We really shouldn't be doing this here…" Ino almost groaned at the sound of reason, her lower lip tugging into an almighty pout.

It seemed to show seeming as Sakura almost immediately looked weakened at the piercing stare the Jounin was most likely giving her.

"Hey! It doesn't mean we can't do it later after Naruto's party, hey Ino-!" With a thump Sakura found herself beneath the blonde, her whole face red and a part of her below throbbing with unmistakable heat.

Sakura didn't know what she should feel. Intimidated by the unearthly gorgeousness that was Ino or the expectant look of lust in the Jounin's heavenly features.

Instead, Sakura swallowed heavily, shaking frenziedly at the fierce look of covetousness that was making Ino's cobalt eyes burn furiously and passionately in desire.

"I want you now. Not later." Ino told Sakura coldly, her features a cold, stoic, unbreakable mask.

"Inooo…Honestly…" Sakura couldn't help but redden at the intense look she was receiving off her blonde girlfriend…And she certainly couldn't help at how turned on she felt all of a sudden.

"Sakuraaaa…" Ino didn't hear anything when she leaned down to capture Sakura's lips in a kiss that was all teeth and tongue thanks to their ferocity and yearning for the other.

She didn't hear anything, nothing at all. She undoubtedly didn't hear anything when Sakura unexpectedly arched up with a long - not to mention loud - moan.

"Hey Ino dearest, sorry me and your father took- what!?"

Of course, someone had to walk in. Couldn't anything go her way today? Of course not, she was fucking Ino Yamanaka. Nothing could go right.

Sakura, if she had any free arms - or hands - then she most likely would have face-palmed herself. Of all the people to walk in…KAORI?!

"Ino, I think you should get off me before your mom has a heart attack." Sakura murmured half-heartedly, rolling her eyes at the stiff figures that was at the entrance of the shop.

"You freakin' dyke!"

_Next Chapter; Naruto's Bonanza. Type: Filler. Yay. I love ruining the sexy moments. ;D It makes tension, which means…ORGASM. Smex? Maybe. You'll get your sex chapter later on. And that is it. I haven't had time to write my PRETTY BABY epilogue so don't get your panties in a twist. That and I'm on holiday on Saturday for two weeks. Yay. It's going to be stupid and rubbish. So you better miss me. GOTZ IT? Kthnxbai._

_(1) Not me joking. Scissors beat paper. ;] Don't take offense._


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